SOUL  CRISES 

JAMES  WILLIAM  ROBINSON 


LIBRARY  OF  RELIGIOUS  THOUGHT 


MAY  24  1918   ] 


BV4316  .S7  R62  1918 
Robinson,  James  William, 
Soul  crises 


"Tfob 


vl>,\<i^'"   "'    •'•l»Ul 


MAY 


A 


t^O, 


SOUL  CRISES 

OUR  RELATION  TO  THE 
GREAT  WAR 


n 


24  19] 

5/CAL  SEViV 


BY 


JAMES  WILLIAM  ROBINSON 


BOSTON 
THE    GORHAM    PRESS 

M  C  M  X  V  I  I  I 


Copyright,  1918,  by  James  W.  Robinson 


All  Rights  Reserved 


Made  in  the  United  States  of  America 
The  Gorham  Press,  Boston,  U.  S.  A. 


DEDICATED 

To  THE  Memory  of 

SECOND  LIEUTENANT  GEORGE  BUCHANAN  SMITH,  M.A.,  LL.B. 

2ND  Battalion  Gordon  Highlanders 

Who  Fell  at  the  Head  of  His  Platoon  in  the  Battle  of  Loos, 

SEFTESiBER  2STH,  IQIS,  AgED  24  YEARS 
AND 

CAPTAIN  ROBERT  DUNLOP  SMITH 

33RD  Pltnjabi  Regiment, 

Indian  Army, 

Who  Fell  in  Action  at  Beaumont's  Post, 

Near  Kilwa,  Kivinji,  East  Africa, 

June  ioth,  1917,  Aged  24  Years 

Gallant  Sons  of  the 

REVEREND  PRINCIPAL 

SIR  GEORGE  AND  LADY  ADAM  SMITH 

D.D.,  LL.D.,  D.LiTT. 

University  of  Aberdeen 

Who  Are  Facing  Their  Soul  Crises  with 

Such  Sublime  Fortitude  and  to  Whom 

I  Owe  More  than  I  Can  Ever  Repay. 

They  were  "lovely  and  pleasant  in  their  lives  and  in  death  they 
are  not  divided." 


PREFACE 

^  I  ^HE  sermons  in  this  volume  have  been  espe- 
-*"  cially  addressed  to  young  men.  I  send  them 
forth  practically  as  they  were  delivered.  If  they 
meet  with  a  reception  similar  to  that  accorded 
their  delivery  I  shall  feel  justified  in  consenting  to 
their  publication. 

It  is  an  honor  to  enjoy  the  friendship  of  young 
men,  and  during  my  ministry  in  the  West  I  have 
been  delighted  with  their  generous  response  to 
the  gospel  message. 

In  the  following  pages  I  endeavor  to  speak 
faithfully  to  all,  but  I  make  a  special  appeal 
to  young  men.  Western  Canada  is  essentially 
a  young  man's  country,  and  certain  anxious 
parents  "in  the  East,"  who  have  sons  in  the 
West,  may  be  wondering  whether  their  boys  are 
remembering  and  respecting  the  claims  of  reli- 
gion? To  these  anxious  souls  I  would  say,  "We 
have  some  of  the  strongest  preachers  as  well  as 
some  of  the  most  enterprising  pastors  in  the  West. 
They  have  the  young  man  and  his  needs  at  heart, 
and  as  a  rule  the  response  of  the  young  man  is 
beautiful  to  behold."     Our  most  promising  young 

5 


6  Preface 

men  are  alive  to  two  facts :  the  fact  of  Christ  and 
the  fact  of  temptation.  The  more  loyal  they  are 
to  their  Saviour  and  King  the  more  conscious  they 
are  of  their  need  to  "watch  and  pray."  To  every 
young  man  life  is  a  series  of  tests.  Daily  we  have 
to  make  choices.  Occasionally  we  have  to  choose 
between  good  and  evil,  more  often  we  have  to 
choose  between  the  better  and  the  best.  As  young 
men 

"We  are  living,  we  are  dwelling. 
In  a  grand  and  awful  time." 

We  are  facing  a  most  critical  time  in  the 
world's  history  as  well  as  a  most  critical  period  in 
our  own  lives.  Greater  opportunities  and  graver 
responsibilities  never  faced  young  men.  We  are 
now  in  the  throes  of  a  world-conflict.  The  issues 
of  this  present  war  are  tremendous.  We  are 
fighting  for  the  elementary  principles  of  justice 
and  freedom.  Into  this  war  we  have  put  our  best 
and  we  believe  we  have  not  done  it  in  vain.  But 
there  is  a  greater  war — the  perpetual  war  between 
righteousness  and  unrighteousness.  In  this 
greater  war  we  cannot  be  neutral.  We  cannot 
even  act  the  part  of  Interested  spectators.  Our 
relation  to  It  is  vital  and  we  must  fight.  Every 
worthy  young  man  welcomes  the  opportunity.  We 
are  made  for  war  and  evil  is  our  foe.  The  old 
order  Is  passing  away.    What  the  new  order  will 


Preface  7 

be  depends  largely  upon  us.  When  the  present 
crisis  came  upon  us  many  of  our  brave  fellows 
heard  the  call  and  marched  away.  They  have 
given  a  good  account  of  themselves.  It  is  difficult 
to  keep  "heartbreak  at  bay"  as  we  frequently  read 
that  some  of  our  noblest  Christian  young  men 
have  been  "killed  in  action." 

Shall  the  generous  contribution  made  by  our 
brave  brothers  on  behalf  of  the  New  Order  be 
ignored?  One  of  our  boys  writing  to  his  parents 
says:  "I  hope  Canada  is  preparing  for  the  home- 
coming of  her  sons.  We  who  have  had  our  bap- 
tism of  fire  are  different  men  and  better  men.  But 
we  fear  these  good  impressions  will  wear  away 
when  the  boys  come  home.  We  will  be  eager 
for  diversion  and  there  are  so  many  temptations 
that  I  fear  for  the  future  of  Canada  unless  she  is 
purged  and  made  ready  for  the  home-coming  of 
her  sons." 

In  the  face  of  such  an  eloquent  appeal  let  us 
rally  to  the  Christian  Standard.  Preparedness 
has  become  an  international  slogan.  Moral  and 
spiritual  preparedness  is  primary  and  fundamen- 
tal. Let  us  enter  heart  and  soul  into  this  great 
moral  struggle  by  enlisting  as  good  soldiers  of 
Jesus  Christ.  To  do  a  little  towards  creating  an 
atmosphere  conducive  to  victory  is  the  aim  of  this 
volume. 

I  gladly  acknowledge  my  indebtedness  to  the 


8  Preface 

Rev.  W.  J.  Dawson,  D.  D.,  whose  Inspiring  books 
I  literally  swallowed  as  a  "teen-age"  boy,  and  to 
all  other  masters  who  have  written  upon  the  sub- 
jects dealt  with.  I  feel  with  Mr.  G.  K.  Chesterton 
that  "I  am  the  man  who  with  the  utmost  daring 
discovered  what  had  been  discovered  before."  ^ 
With  the  fervent  prayer  that  it  may  in  some  meas- 
ure encourage  and  inspire  young  men  in  their  soul 
crises  this  message  is  humbly  sent  forth. 

J.  W.  Robinson. 
Welwyn,  Sask. 
1918. 

*  Orthodoxy. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER 
I 

Facing  the  Crisis 

PAGE 

.       13 

II 

Ignoring  the  Crisis    . 

.       25 

III 

Can    Christ  do   anything   for   thi 

Morally  Upright? 

;       38 

IV 

What  might  have  been! 

.       50 

V 

A  Present  Crisis 

.       66 

VI 

An  Urgent  Call 

.       80 

VII 

The    Possibilities   of    the   Averagi 

Man 

.       93 

VIII 

A  Moral  Tragedy 

.     106 

IX 

A  Recall,  or  the  Man  Who  Cami 

I 

Back 

.     121 

X 

Christian  Athletes  . 

134 

XI 

A  Moral  Crisis  .... 

.     146 

XII 

A  Domestic  Crisis 

160 

XIII 

A  Spiritual  Crisis 

174 

XIV 

The  Advent  of  a  Conqueror    . 

189 

XV 

A  National  Crisis 

201 

XVI 

The  Man  We  Most  Urgently  Neee 

►     212 

XVII 

An  Effective  Weapon 

224 

will 

Christian  Courage     . 

238 

XIX 

A  Great  Specialist    .        .        .        . 

252 

XX 

A  National  Trinity  .        .        .        . 

264 

XXI 

A  Challenge  to  Civilization    . 

278 

SOUL  CRISES 


SOUL  CRISES 


CHAPTER  I 

FACING   THE    CRISIS 

Lord,  ivhat  ivilt  thou  have  me  to  do. — Acts  IX,  6. 

npHERE  is  a  certain  study  which  can  be  made 
-*-  very  interesting  and  which  is  very  profitable. 
It  is  a  study  which  appeals  to  all  who  wish  to 
know  the  meaning  and  purpose  of  life,  and  to 
make  the  most  of  theirs.  The  study  to  which  I 
refer  is  biography.  We  enjoy  reading  the  lives 
of  those  who  have  excelled  and  while  appreciat- 
ing their  respective  merits  we  like  to  discover  the 
hidden  springs  of  their  character.  What  was  the 
secret  of  their  success  ?  What  was  it  that  led  them 
on  to  greatness?  In  our  perusal  of  the  biog- 
raphies of  eminent  men  we  encounter  certain  fea- 
tures which  seem  to  stand  out  with  more  or  less 
prominence.  As  we  ponder  the  life  of  any  man 
who  has  distinguished  himself,  and  whom  we  re- 
gard as  a  hero,  whether  he  be  a  hero-soldier  or  a 
hero-saint,  we  almost  invariably  conclude  that  he 
was  a  man  of  great  natural  ability. 

In  most  biographies  this  aspect  occupies  a  place 
13 


14  Soul  Crises 

out  of  all  proportion  to  other  essential,  but  less 
congenial  factors.  It  is  doubtless  quite  in  order 
to  magnify  the  genius  of  the  man  who  has  played 
a  conspicuous  part  in  the  progress  of  the  world, 
but  with  all  our  love  for  the  romantic  we  must 
not  forget  that  it  is  untrue  to  life  to  magnify  the 
genius  and  minimize  the  early  struggles,  the  stren- 
uous efforts  put  forth  by  way  of  preparation  for 
life's  work.  It  is  this  customary  advertising  of  the 
brilliant  achievements,  to  the  almost  total  exclu- 
sion of  any  hint  of  a  Gethsemane's  agony  or  a 
Calvary's  cross  which  has  made  ordinary  people 
conclude  that  all  great  men  have  been  favoured 
with  a  superabundance  of  natural  ability.  There 
is  a  partial  truth  in  this  statement,  but  it  is  not 
the  whole  truth  by  any  means.  The  distinguished 
man  may  exhibit  his  talent  with  such  grace  and 
ease  as  to  lead  us  to  infer  that  he  is  one  of  those 
geniuses  who  are  born  and  not  made.  But  ap- 
parent as  it  seems  in  nine  cases  out  of  ten,  history 
does  not  confirm  this  conclusion. 

Despite  the  poetic  strain  in  us  which  lauds  the 
saying  that,  "Some  are  born  great,  some  achieve 
greatness,  and  some  have  greatness  thrust  upon 
them,"  the  diamond  must  be  mined,  and  even  when 
discovered,  it  must  be  ground  and  polished,  and 
so  with  every  man  born  with  what  we  term  great 
natural  ability.  It  is  my  growing  conviction  that 
the  big  majority  who  distinguish  themselves 
achieve  greatness.  They  rise  from  the  ranks  and 
the  most  casual  observer  may  acquaint  himself 


Facing  the  Crisis  15 

with  the  fact  that  a  large  percentage  of  the  real 
heroes  of  the  race  owe  nothing  to  the  possession 
of  the  silver  spoon.  The  secret  of  their  success 
lies  in  something  deeper  and  more  fundamental 
than  great  natural  ability.  What  we,  in  our  com- 
placent ignorance,  delight  to  call  great  natural 
abihty,  these  men  of  the  order  of  the  lion  heart 
call  by  another  name;  and  were  they  so  disposed, 
they  could  open  chapters  in  their  history  which 
would  inform  us  that  they  knew  how  to  "toil  ter- 
ribly." As  we  scanned  those  pages  we  would  read 
of  many  a  bloody  sweat,  and  of  many  a  cross  pa- 
tiently borne ;  until  they  emerged  from  the  gloom 
in  resurrection  power,  and  the  world  was  com- 
pelled to  acknowledge  their  greatness. 

Another  feature  which  is  easily  discernible  as 
we  study  the  biography  of  the  great  man  is,  what 
many  are  pleased  to  term,  his  good  fortune.  The 
lines  fell  to  him  in  pleasant  places.  He  just  hap- 
pened to  be  there,  and  things  invariably  came  his 
way.  The  whole  cycle  of  events  just  seemed  to 
wait  to  confer  fresh  honours  upon  him.  The 
worldly-wise  account  for  his  fame  by  a  study  of 
astrology.  He  was  born  on  a  lucky  day;  he  had  a 
lucky  star,  and  his  whole  story  is  summed  up  in 
his  being  more  fortunate  than  his  fellows. 

It  is  the  old  story  of  luck,  but  luck  is  something 
with  which  he  whom  the  world  delights  to  honour 
never  took  time  to  confer.  He  was  not  hanging 
around  with  nothing  to  do  in  particular  when  all 
this  good  fortune  arrested  his  attention  and  car- 


1 6  Sotd  Crises 

ried  him  on  to  glory.  No !  He  was  a  man  with 
a  mission;  life  had  a  meaning  to  him.  He  had  a 
part  to  play,  and  whether  good  fortune  smiled  or 
frowned  to  that  end  he  came  forth ;  for  that  he  had 
toiled  incessantly;  for  that  he  had  risked  the  loss 
of  all.  Others  were  around  before  he  came  upon 
the  scene,  but  were  unequal  to  the  illustrious  task. 
When  he  came,  it  was  easily  recognized  that  he 
alone  was  master  of  the  situation.  He  was  not 
carried  there  by  luck  or  good  fortune ;  he  came  to 
his  own  by  the  sheer  logic  of  honest  drudgery. 
Luck  was  an  unknown  word  in  his  vocabulary.  He 
tarried  not  for  good  fortune ;  nor  feared  to  face 
bad  fortune,  but  through  good  report  and  evil  he 
kept  on  his  lonely  way. 

There  are  those  who  seem  to  partition  time  off 
into  lucky  and  unlucky  days,  who  shun  super- 
stitious omens,  and  believe  in  lucky  stars.  One  or 
two  things  about  these  people  I  have  observed. 
Luck  is  the  forlorn  hope  of  the  man  who  was  born 
tired,  and  who  has  never  conquered  his  inertia. 
Luck  is  the  creed  of  the  morally  bankrupt.  Luck 
is  the  god  of  the  spiritually  blind,  who  eventually 
find  themselves  in  the  ditch.  Luck  sounds  very 
romantic;  and  is,  in  fact,  quite  as  romantic  in  its  re- 
wards as  in  its  promises.  It  promises  something 
for  nothing  and  eventually  its  votary  dies.  On  his 
tombstone  write,  "This  is  a  man  who  for  forty 
years  was  always  going  to  do  something;  but  who 
was  waiting  for  something  to  turn  up,  and  lo  !  here 
he  lies  in  a  pauper's  grave." 


Facing  the  Crisis  17 

The  secret  of  renown  lies  In  something  more 
fundamental  than  natural  ability;  in  something 
more  reliable  than  good  fortune;  it  lies  in  the 
birth  of  a  single  strenuous  purpose  in  the  soul. 
Before  the  advent  of  an  all-controlling  purpose, 
great  natural  ability  and  good  fortune  pale  into 
insignificance.  Such  is  the  potency  of  an  idea,  such 
the  power  of  purpose !  When  a  man  comes  to  a 
crisis,  faces  the  issue,  and  chooses  to  do  the  one 
thing  worth  while,  he  has  clothed  himself  with  a 
power  before  which  time  and  death  are  impotent. 
The  man  without  a  purpose  is  like  a  ship  without 
a  rudder:  he  has  no  aim  in  life.  He  is  simply 
drifting  on  the  high  seas,  and  when  hailed  by  a 
passing  ship,  "Whither  bound?"  he  answers  with 
a  laugh  of  derision,  "Nowhere  in  particular;  out 
for  a  good  time."  Such  a  life  is  bound  for  the 
rocks. 

An  imperative  question  for  every  young  man 
standing  on  the  threshold  of  life  to  ask  is :  "Lord, 
what  wilt  thou  have  me  to  do?"  Such  a  question 
is  evidence  that  we  have  awakened  to  the  greatest 
issue  confronting  the  mind  of  man.  The  words  of 
our  text  ring  with  genuine  interest  for  us  because 
they  mark  the  crisis  in  the  history  of  a  soul.  Saul 
of  Tarsus  was  certainly  a  young  man  of  more  than 
average  ability;  he  was  the  very  essence  of  devo- 
tion, and  withal  eager  to  succeed.  Fortune  smiled 
upon  him,  and  it  seemed  as  though  nothing  could 
hinder  his  ascent  up  the  ladder  of  Rabbinical  fame, 
when,  lo  !  a  light  appeared  on  the  highway  of  life : 


1 8  Soul  Crises 

he  saw  a  face;  he  heard  a  voice,  and  all  was 
changed!  Here  his  Pharisaical  career  terminated. 
Here  he  exchanged  the  path  of  persecution  for  the 
path  of  martyrdom,  and  with  the  cry,  "Lord,  what 
wilt  thou  have  me  to  do?"  he  pledged  himself  for- 
ever the  bond-slave  of  Jesus  Christ. 

Will  any  of  you  dare  to  suggest  that  he  made  a 
mistake?  No  man  ever  makes  a  mistake,  no  mat- 
ter how  favourable  his  chances  of  promotion,  or 
how  certain  his  fame,  who,  with  a  glorious  aban- 
don, throws  policy  and  caution  to  the  winds  and 
with  grim  determination  cries,  "Lord,  what  wilt 
thou  have  me  to  do?"  Sometimes  we  have  to 
choose  between  good  and  evil,  and  sometimes  we 
have  to  choose  between  the  better  and  the  best. 
There  is  fame,  and  there  is  immortality.  Fame 
awaited  Saul  as  a  Rabbi,  but  the  Rabbis,  even  the 
greatest,  have  passed  off  the  stage  and  their  great- 
ness is  a  memory;  while  St.  Paul  who  was  en- 
trusted with  the  future  of  Christianity  grasped  the 
situation,  and  proved  himself  its  master  by  over- 
throwing paganism  and  conquering  the  world.  St. 
Paul  lives  to-day,  and  easily  takes  his  place  at  the 
head  of  that  noble  line  of  heroes  and  martyrs  of 
whom  the  world  was  not  worthy. 

In  asking  you  to  consider  a  few  features  of  his 
remarkable  life,  I  beg  no  pardons,  for  I  ask  you 
to  behold  a  man:  a  man  who  was  transformed  by 
the  living  Christ  and  transfigured  by  the  power  of 
purpose.  I  want  you  to  come  with  me  along  the 
Damascus  road;  that  road  which  is  symbolic  of  re- 


Facing  the  Crisis  19 

pentance  toward  God  and  faith  in  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ.  I  want  you  to  see  this  prostrate  man,  pale 
and  trembling,  with  a  great  fear  in  his  heart,  in- 
tensified by  the  conviction  that  he  has  been  living 
at  cross-purposes  with  God,  lifting  his  face  heaven- 
ward, and  I  want  you  to  hear  him  in  a  subdued 
voice  say,  "Lord,  what  wilt  thou  have  me  to  do?" 
He  is  a  conquered  man.  How  truly  he  could  enter 
into  the  experience  of  another  who  cried,  "O  Gali- 
lean, Thou  hast  conquered."  He  is  a  resolved 
man.  He  has  come  to  an  irrevocable  decision. 
He  volunteers  his  services.  He  wants  to  do  some- 
thing for  the  Lord.    What  can  he  do? 

If  you  and  I  had  looked  at  that  prostrate  form 
we  would  have  asked  him  to  stand  up.  We  would 
have  taken  a  mental  survey  of  him  and  then  we 
might  have  confessed,  "We  wanted  you  for  an 
apostle,  but  your  appearance  is  against  you."  It 
was  quite  true,  at  least  in  so  far  as  tradition  can 
be  trusted,  and  St.  Paul  confirms  this  conclusion. 
His  appearance  was  against  him.  Speaking  of 
himself  Paul  says,  "Who  in  presence  am  base 
among  you."  "His  bodily  presence  is  weak  and 
his  speech  contemptible."  St.  Paul's  appearance 
was  certainly  against  him.  He  was  undersized 
and  he  was  weak-eyed,  but  he  was  not  weak- 
kneed.  In  that  little  frail  body,  often  racked  with 
infirmity,  there  slumbered  the  soul  of  a  giant.  If 
this  young  man  had  come  up  before  many  of  our 
modern  church  courts,  offering  his  services  as  a 
minister,  I'm  afraid  he  would  have  been  rejected. 


20  Soul  Crises 

A  few  generations  ago  a  young  man  presented 
himself  as  a  candidate  for  the  Christian  ministry. 
He  was  rejected  by  one  church  but  he  tried  an- 
other. He  was  none  other  than  Dr.  Joseph 
Parker  who  began  life  as  an  assistant  to  a  mason. 
Speaking  of  himself  he  said,  "I  early  reached  the 
conclusion  that  God  intended  me  for  something 
higher  than  carrying  bricks."  Dr.  Parker  was  a 
prophet  in  his  day  and  generation,  and  he  being 
dead  yet  speaketh.  What  happened  to  a  spiritual 
giant  Hke  Dr.  Parker  has,  doubtless,  been  expe- 
rienced by  many  others. 

In  asking  the  most  momentous  question  of  your 
life,  you  may  wonder  what  you  can  do.  In  appear- 
ance you  may  have  a  distinct  advantage  over  St. 
Paul.  Healthy  in  body  and  supple  in  limb; 
well  proportioned,  strong  in  muscle  and  graceful 
in  bearing.  A  good  appearance  is  not  to  be  de- 
spised. It  is  a  great  asset.  If  your  appearance 
is  against  you  you  may  be  conscious  of  a  serious 
handicap,  but  do  not  be  discouraged.  Make  your 
disadvantage  a  ladder. 

A  weak  appearance  may  be  glorified  by  God, 
and  suffered  by  man,  but  not  so  discouragement. 
Discouragement  is  a  sin  which  must  be  dealt  with 
in  its  early  stages  or  all  is  lost.  Discouragement 
acts  like  lead  around  the  body  of  a  strong  swim- 
mer; it  weighs  him  down  out  of  sight.  Appear- 
ance is  a  serious  factor  in  daily  affairs,  but  when 
compared  with  the  power  of  purpose  it  is  a  minor 
detail. 


Facing  the  Crisis  21 

As  we  Interview  Saul  regarding  his  attainments 
wc  quickly  conclude  that  he  is  a  talented  young 
man.  He  was  born  in  Tarsus  of  Cilicia.  Tarsus 
was  a  city  of  wealth  and  culture.  After  receiving 
a  liberal  education  in  his  native  city,  Saul  went 
up  to  Jerusalem  to  receive  further  instruction  from 
the  renowned  Gamaliel.  There  he  distinguished 
himself,  and  prophecy  was  rife  as  to  his  even  sur- 
passing his  brilliant  master.  Naturally  a  student 
and  burning  with  a  thirst  for  knowledge,  it  seemed 
as  though  nothing  would  prevent  him  becoming 
the  greatest  scholar  of  his  time.  Scholastic  fame 
was  within  easy  reach.  But  on  the  road  to  Da- 
mascus he  experienced  a  change  which  led  him 
to  break  forever  with  the  past  and  with  a  vision 
of  the  true  meaning  and  purpose  of  life  he  cried, 
"Lord,  what  wilt  thou  have  me  to  do?" 

When  we  turn  from  the  consideration  of  St. 
Paul's  personal  appearance  to  his  personal  attain- 
ments we  instinctively  feel  that  the  tables  have 
been  turned.  We  are  standing  in  the  presence 
of  an  intellectual  giant  who  commands  our  admira- 
tion. Without  question  we  acknowledge  ourselves 
in  the  presence  of  one  who  is  our  superior.  But 
while  we  revere  him,  let  us  not  get  benumbed  in 
his  presence;  for  he  too  had  a  beginning.  When 
he  asked  this  question  he  was  an  untried  man. 

Until  we  set  ourselves  bravely  and  persistently 
to  the  task  we  never  know  what  we  can  do.  Most 
men  who  have  distinguished  themselves  in  life 
have  been  almost  as  big  a  revelation  to  themselves 


12  Soul  Crises 

as  they  have  been  to  other  people.  Therefore 
while  conscious  of  our  limitations  let  us  recognize 
that  we  belong  to  the  same  order  of  life  as  Socra- 
tes and  Seneca,  Handel  and  Shakespeare,  Luther 
and  Lincoln.  Every  life  has  a  mission  and  "who 
knoweth  whether  thou  art  come  to  the  Kingdom 
for  such  a  time  as  this?"  We  all  have  talents  for 
something,  and  I  am  not  concerned  about  ascer- 
taining the  precise  nature  of  your  talents :  what  I 
am  concerned  about  is  this,  Are  you  willing  even 
now,  to  dedicate  them  to  God? 

Recollect,  before  you  can  hope  to  have  the  tal- 
ent of  achievement  you  must  utilize  the  talent  of 
preparation.  To  every  aspiring  young  life  I  would 
say.  Have  you  the  talent  of  application  and  the 
talent  of  perseverance?  If  you  have  you  are  pos- 
sessed of  omnipotence.  There  are  some  people 
who  have  general  talents  for  everything  and  par- 
ticular talents  for  nothing.  Of  these  people  I 
fight  shy.  Application  and  perseverance  always 
tell. 

We  have  two  notable  illustrations  of  this  fact 
in  Demosthenes  and  Coleridge.  That  Coleridge 
was  a  "myriad-minded  man"  all  literary  men  will 
agree.  His  genius  was  evident  to  one  and  all. 
In  his  early  life  no  one  met  him  without  a  sense 
of  wonder  and  admiration.  The  apostrophe  of 
Charles  Lamb  respecting  him,  as  Dr.  W.  J.  Daw- 
son has  so  ably  expressed  it,  is  "equally  famous 
and  pathetic."  "Come  back  into  memory,  like 
as  thou  wert  in  the  dayspring  of  thy  fancies,  with 


Facing  the  Crisis  23 

hope  like  a  fiery  column  before  thee — the  dark 
pillar  not  yet  turned,  Samuel  Taylor  Coleridge — 
Logician,  Metaphysician,  Bard!"^  What  he  did 
produce  is  the  pure  gold  of  literature,  but  he  frit- 
tered away  his  time  and  did  practically  nothing. 
Compare  Coleridge  with  Demosthenes.  Demos- 
thenes had  an  ambition  to  be  an  orator,  but  he 
was  troubled  with  defective  speech.  Any  one 
can  appreciate  how  hard  it  must  be  for  a  stam- 
merer or  a  stutterer  to  excel  as  a  speaker,  but 
Demosthenes  applied  himself  with  a  will.  He 
studied  his  calling  and  practised  his  art  on  the 
sea  shore  with  pebbles  in  his  mouth  until  he  be- 
came one  of  the  few  experts  in  expressing  the 
beautiful  but  intricate  language  of  Greece. 

One  more  glance  at  this  young  man  Saul,  and 
then  we  must  leave  him  for  the  present.  As  we 
listen  to  him  we  become  convinced  that  he  is  In- 
tensely devout.  Saul  was  the  very  embodiment  of 
sincerity.  We  do  him  serious  Injustice  If  we  think 
otherwise.  He  mourns  the  fact  of  his  having  been 
a  persecutor,  but  confesses  that  he  did  It  Ignor- 
antly  in  unbelief.  Never  was  a  man  Inspired  by 
loftier  motives  than  Saul,  when  he  set  out  to  over- 
throw Christianity.  But  when  the  light  of  God 
flashed  upon  his  soul,  he  became  aware  that  his  fife 
hitherto  had  been  a  huge  blunder  and  trembling 
with  astonishment  he  cried,  "Lord,  what  wilt  thou 
have  me  to  do?" 

Young  people,  I  do  not  question  your  sincerity. 

*  The  Making  of  Manhood. 


24  Soul  Crises 

It  may  be  as  transparent  as  the  noon-day  light,  but 
sincerity  is  not  all.  May  not  your  life  with  all  its 
good  intentions  be  wrong?  Have  you  recognized 
and  acknowledged  the  Kingship  of  Christ?  Let 
your  life  be  guided  by  an  intelligent  purpose,  and 
henceforth  and  forever  may  it  be  your  purpose 
and  mine  to  live  Christ! 


CHAPTER  II 

IGNORING  THE  CRISIS 

Lest  there  be  any  fornicator,  or  profane  person,  as  Esau,  <who 
for  one  morsel  of  meat  sold  his  birthright.  For  ye  knonv  how 
that  afterivard,  ivhen  he  ivould  have  inherited  the  blessing,  he 
ivas  rejected:  for  he  found  no  place  of  repentance,  though  he 
sought  it  carefully  with  tears. — Heb.  XII,  16-17. 

JACOB  and  Esau  are  brought  before  us,  by  the 
•^  sacred  historian  in  a  very  realistic  manner. 
Taking  the  two  young  men  as  they  are  depicted  to 
us,  they  present  a  very  profitable  and  interesting 
study.  As  we  look  at  them  our  first  impression 
is  that  they  are  not  akin.  One  is  red  and  rough 
and  ready;  the  other  is  white  and  smooth  and 
deep.  When  we  are  fully  convinced  that  they  are 
brothers  and  twins  at  that,  we  marvel  at  the  strik- 
ing contrasts  to  be  found  in  the  same  family. 
Doubtless  we  often  have  remarked  upon  the  dif- 
ferences in  children:  difference  In  disposition,  of 
ambition,  and  of  appearance,  In  numbers  of  fam- 
ilies we  have  known. 

These  two  boys  have  no  family  resemblance 
whatever  and  as  they  grow  to  manhood  they  ex- 
hibit different  traits  of  character.  Esau  was  a  cun- 
ning hunter,  while  Jacob  was  a  plain  man  dwelling 
in   tents.      Jacob    was    shrewd,    calculating    and 

25 


26  Soul  Crises 

crafty;  whereas  Esau  was  frank  and  goodnatured; 
but  withal  reckless  and  impatient  of  all  restraint. 

These  two  brothers  come  upon  the  stage  as 
actors  in  a  scene  which  reveals  their  character, 
and  decides  their  destiny.  In  the  first  act  we  see 
the  sturdy  but  famished  hunter  returning  from  the 
chase,  and  we  impulsively  sympathize  with  him  as 
we  see  him  staggering  along  and  almost  falling 
with  exhaustion.  In  the  foreground  we  see  his 
scheming  brother  preparing  a  tempting  meal.  He 
has  been  watching  for  a  favorable  opportunity, 
and  now  he  is  determined  to  have  his  price  before 
his  brother  shares  his  meal.  The  mess  of  red 
lentils  looked  very  savoury,  and  the  smell  of  it 
simply  took  Esau  by  storm.  We  are  told  of  the 
Arab  by  those  who  know  him  well,  that  his  hunger 
is  madness.  That  madness  is  now  upon  Esau. 
Being  a  hearty  eater  at  any  time  and  knowing  the 
pleasure  of  gratifying  a  good  appetite  he  ex- 
claimed, "Feed  me,  I  pray  thee,  with  that  red — 
that  red!"  He  did  not  know  what  to  call  it:  but 
it  looked  good  to  eat,  and  it  would  satisfy  the 
cravings  of  hunger. 

And  Jacob  said,  "Sell  me  this  day  thy  birth- 
right." The  birthright  was  more  than  a  title.  It 
was  an  honour  which  carried  with  it  certain  dis- 
tinct advantages.  In  the  Jewish  economy  the  first- 
born was  signally  favoured,  he  was  consecrated 
to  God,  he  received  a  double  portion  of  the  inheri- 
tance, he  became  the  recognised  leader  or  chief  of 
the  tribe,  and  had  a  right  to  demand  a  particular 


Ignoring  the  Crisis  27 

blessing  from  his  dying  father. 

By  meditation,  Jacob  had  peered  into  the  future; 
and  had  a  fairly  accurate  idea  of  the  advantages 
accruing  from  the  birthright;  while  Esau  had 
thought  little  or  nothing  about  it.  And  without 
the  slightest  suspicion  that  he  was  nearing  a  crisis 
he  burst  out,  "Behold  I  am  at  the  point  to  die,  and 
what  profit  shall  my  birthright  do  to  me?"  No! 
Esau!  thou  art  far  from  dying!  A  dying  man  is 
not  quite  so  vehement.  Thy  words  are  an  outburst 
of  passion  rather  than  a  cry  of  pain!  Esau  is 
suffering  from  a  lack  of  patience.  Other  men  have 
been  as  hungry,  and  tightened  their  belts.  Why 
didn't  he  set  to  work  and  prepare  his  own  meal? 
Surely  Jacob  did  not  have  a  monopoly  of  all  the 
red  lentils  in  the  country.  Had  Esau  exercised 
patience,  and  behaved  like  a  full  grown  man,  in- 
stead of  acting  the  part  of  a  giant  baby,  he  would 
not  have  ignored  his  crisis. 

What  a  tempted  man  needs  is  patience,  staying 
power,  the  ability  to  hold  out.  If  he  can  hold  out 
long  enough,  the  demon  of  darkness  will  release 
his  grip,  and  he  will  emerge  from  the  struggle 
victorious. 

In  the  second  act  upon  this  stage  the  bargain  has 
been  accepted,  the  birthright  has  been  sold,  and 
Esau  is  busy  satisfying  the  cravings  of  hunger. 
As  we  watch  the  two  brothers  we  hardly  can  re- 
frain from  remarking  that  one  lives  to  eat,  and 
the  other  eats  to  live;  one  has  a  stomach,  and  the 
other  has  a  soul;  one  is  a  kind  of  digesting  ma- 


28  Soul  Crises 

chine,  the  other  thinks,  and,  whether  commendable 
or  not,  he  gets  things  going  his  way.  It  is  hardly 
necessary  to  say,  that  as  they  stand  neither  of  them 
is  a  saint.  In  fact  one  of  them  does  not  wish  to 
be  regarded  as  a  saint.  He  had  little  use  for 
prayers  and  pious  looks.  They  might  be  all  very 
well  for  his  aged  father;  but  as  for  his  slick 
brother  a  fine  kind  of  saint  he  would  make. 

Although  Jacob  was  no  saint  he  ultimately  be- 
came one.  To  begin  with  he  did  not  give  much 
promise  of  sainthood;  rather  he  was  full  of  faults, 
and  among  others  he  was  guilty  of  the  detestable 
fault  of  meanness.  Jacob's  conduct  has  been  a 
problem  to  a  great  many  young  men ;  but  whatever 
view  you  take  of  Jacob  remember  that  God  did 
not  countenance  his  wrongdoing.  "Whatsoever  a 
man  soweth  that  shall  he  also  reap,"  and  Jacob 
was  no  exception. 

On  the  other  hand  Esau  was  frank  and  free; 
an  openhanded  fellow  with  an  honest  heart.  He 
was  the  kind  of  a  young  man  you  Hke  to  meet, 
but  when  you  have  been  in  his  company  for  a 
while  you  have  his  depth.  At  first  he  can  charm 
you  with  his  hunting  adventures,  but  you  soon  tire 
of  hunting  stories,  and  when  you  begin  to  talk 
on  any  other  subject  to  Esau,  he  is  at  sea.  All 
he  can  wax  eloquent  about  is  a  good  square  meal; 
his  last  carousal,  or  his  anticipation  of  the  next. 
You  have  met  those  amiable  Esaus.  They  are 
fine  fellows;  but  if  you  take  them  away  from  their 
favourite  subjects  of  appetite  or  sport,  they  are 


Ignoring  the  Crisis  29 

dumb.  They  can  tell  you  nothing  about  the  best 
authors;  for  they  do  not  read  those  books  which 
are  worth  while  and  which  are  the  best  thoughts 
of  the  noblest  brains  that  ever  throbbed.  They 
do  not  care  for  music;  for  they  do  not  sing  the 
songs  that  have  led  battalions  on  to  victory.  They 
are  strangers  to  the  divine  power  of  sacred  song. 
As  for  art  they  may  gaze  upon  it,  but  they  cannot 
see  its  inner  beauty.  They  have  the  eyes  of  a 
hawk  but  the  vision  of  an  owl.  How  keen-sighted 
they  are  1  By  a  kind  of  instinct  they  can  discern  a 
beast  in  the  forest,  or  a  ball  upon  the  field,  but 
they  are  blind  to  the  really  beautiful  in  art,  in 
nature  and  in  history. 

A  would-be  critic  said  to  Turner,  ''I  never  see 
such  sunsets  as  you  paint." 

The  artist  replied  saying,  "Don't  you  wish  you 
could?" 

As  for  the  sacred  name  of  religion,  these  Esaus 
have  no  use  for  it;  they  are  emphatically  unspirit- 
ual.  They  can  see  no  need  for  ministers  and 
churches  and  Sundays  and  endless  expense.  We 
have  Esaus  around  us  who  glory  in  their  physical 
strength,  as  though  the  body  were  everything, 
but  as  for  their  souls  they  never  seem  to  give  them 
a  passing  thought !  They  are  strong  and  swift 
and  clever.  They  win  our  admiration  as  athletes, 
and,  indeed,  they  are  splendid  animals;  but  in 
moral  calibre  and  spiritual  force  they  are  as  chil- 
dren who  have  not  yet  begun  to  walk  or  talk. 
These  Esaus  with  their  splendid  physique  are  full 


30  Soul  Crises 

of  promise,  but  unless  the  body  hands  the  reins 
of  moral  government  to  the  soul,  they  will  plunge 
forward  into  madness  and  ruin. 

Esau  sells  his  birthright,  eats  his  meal,  and 
goes  out  as  though  nothing  had  happened,  but  he 
has  not  gone  for  good,  he  will  return  again,  and 
when  he  returns  he  will  be  brought  face  to  face 
with  his  folly. 

In  the  third  act  an  old  man  sits  upon  the  stage. 
He  Is  almost  blind.  Isaac  imagines  he  is  about  to 
go  the  way  of  all  flesh,  and  before  he  makes  his 
exit  from  the  stage  he  intends  to  bless  his  first- 
born. Esau  Is  called  and  given  his  instructions. 
**Now  therefore  take,  I  pray  thee,  thy  weapons, 
thy  quiver  and  thy  bow,  and  go  out  to  the  field, 
and  take  me  some  venison;  and  make  me  savoury 
meat,  such  as  I  love,  and  bring  it  to  me,  that  I 
may  eat;  that  my  soul  may  bless  thee  before  I  die." 
Esau  goes  on  his  errand,  and  presently  in  comes 
Jacob  dressed  as  Esau,  and  bringing  with  him 
savoury  meat.  Isaac  cries,  "Who  art  thou  my 
son?" 

Jacob  tells  the  first  of  his  three  lies,  and  steals 
the  blessing.  He  retires,  and  has  just  made  good 
his  retreat,  when  In  comes  Esau  saying,  "Let  my 
father  arise,  and  eat  of  his  son's  venison,  that 
thy  soul  may  bless  me." 

Isaac  trembled,  and  said,  "Who?  Where  is 
he  that  hath  taken  venison,  and  brought  it  me,  and 
I  have  eaten  of  all  before  thou  camest,  and  have 
blessed  him?     Yea,  and  he  shall  be  blessed." 


Ignoring  the  Crisis  31 

"And  when  Esau  heard  the  words  of  his  father, 
he  cried  with  a  great  and  exceeding  bitter  cry,  and 
said  unto  his  father.  Bless  me,  even  me  also,  O 
my  father!" 

We  are  profoundly  moved  by  this  exceeding 
great  and  bitter  cry.  It  is  always  an  affecting 
sight  to  see  a  man  in  tears;  but  to  hear  a  strong 
man  crying  out  in  an  agony  of  anguish  is  simply 
heartrending.  We  feel  the  tragedy  of  his  posi- 
tion as  we  take  our  stand  by  the  side  of  poor  heart- 
broken Esau.  The  tragedy  is  this:  his  tears  are 
of  no  avail,  the  blessing  has  been  pronounced  upon 
the  head  of  another,  and  what  is  done  cannot  be 
undone.  Our  hearts  vibrate  with  genuine  sympa- 
thy for  Esau  as  the  consequences  of  his  folly  break 
upon  him  like  a  bolt  from  the  blue.  We  instinct- 
ively take  sides  with  him  as  he  vows  vengeance  on 
his  brother,  and  as  for  the  part  played  by  his 
mother  we  regard  such  treachery  as  beneath  con- 
tempt.    But  we  must  exercise  a  care. 

There  is  a  law  in  the  moral  realm  which  we 
break  at  our  peril;  and  we  are  all  too  eager  to 
look  for  sympathy  and  excuse  ourselves  when  the 
consequences  of  our  wilfulness  are  brought  home 
to  us. 

As  for  Jacob,  he  also  sinned  and  that  most 
grievously.  He  played  the  detestable  part  of  a 
sneak  and  a  coward.  The  blessing  went  with  the 
birthright  and  had  Jacob  been  a  truer  man  he 
would  have  chosen  a  more  honourable  means  of 
obtaining  it. 


32  Soul  Crises 

The  present  seems  an  opportune  time  for  vent- 
ing our  wrath  upon  all  the  crafty  and  cowardly 
conspirators  that  ever  have  lived;  upon  all  the 
scheming,  self-seeking  Jacobs  at  work  in  modern 
times,  but  we  must  refrain. 

Jacob's  meanness  is  no  excuse  for  Esau's  folly. 
Esau  is  a  type  of  that  vaunting  individual  who 
gaily  intimates  that  he  is  going  to  sow  his  wild 
oats.  The  would-be  Esau  had  better  reflect  upon 
his  course.  There  is  seed-time  and  harvest  In  the 
moral  world,  and  harvest  time  comes  with  uner- 
ring certainty.  Esau's  behaviour  over  a  mess  of 
pottage  was  anything  but  commendable.  His  im- 
patient utterance  then  was  a  seed  sown  which 
grew  into  an  exceeding  great  and  bitter  cry.  "Be- 
hold, I  am  at  the  point  to  die :  and  what  profit 
shall  the  birthright  do  to  me?"  His  words  re- 
veal a  lack  of  reverence.  If  he  had  thought  se- 
riously what  the  birthright  meant  to  him  he  would 
have  been  more  reluctant  In  parting  with  it.  His 
demeanour  suggests  that  he  had  thought  little  or 
nothing  about  it.  He  did  not  appreciate  the  fact 
that  his  father  was  a  patriarch  and  that,  in  the 
natural  order  of  things  he  would  succeed  his 
father,  and  have  the  unspeakable  privilege  of 
walking  and  talking  with  God. 

A  lack  of  reverence  is  a  serious  defect  In  a 
young  man's  character.  But  you  ask,  "What  did 
Esau  know  about  reverence?"  He  was  not  a 
heathen  or  we  might  excuse  him.  It  is  to  be 
feared  that  many  poor  heathen  groping  in  pagan 


Ignoring  the  Crisis  33 

darkness  have  reflected  more  upon  the  majesty  and 
mystery  of  human  life  than  many  of  our  young 
people  living  in  Christian  homes.  They  fail  to 
see  any  advantage  in  having  a  godly  father  and  a 
praying  mother.  Esau-like  they  are  despising 
their  birthright.  Esau  had  opportunities  for 
healthy  reflection.  Though  modest,  his  father 
was  a  distinguished  man,  a  man  honoured  of  God 
and  esteemed  by  his  fellows,  but  Esau  cared  for 
none  of  these  things.  Life  to  him  was  a  hunting 
ground,  and  as  far  as  we  can  gather  from  the 
sacred  records,  he  had  no  more  reverence  for  God 
and  the  world  than  had  the  animals  he  stalked  in 
the  chase.  Besides,  even  though  he  was  not  a  god- 
fearing youth  he  might  have  exhibited  a  degree 
of  self-reverence  which  makes  a  man  feel  the  dig- 
nity of  human  life,  and  to,  at  least,  ask  himself 
the  questions,  "Whence?"  and  "Whither?" 

Is  not  lack  of  reverence  one  of  the  outstanding 
defects  in  the  life  of  the  modern  youth?  Rever- 
ence is  an  intuition  of  the  soul.  It  suggests  mod- 
esty in  the  presence  of  mystery.  Reverence  should 
be  more  in  evidence  in  the  home,  in  the  church, 
and  in  the  world.  Young  people !  Recognize  the 
dignity  of  human  nature,  and  the  uniqueness  of 
your  own  individuality.  Consider  your  relation- 
ship to  God  and  ponder  the  words  of  the  Psalmist 
concerning  man,  "Thou  hast  made  him  but  little 
lower  than  God,  and  crownest  him  with  glory  and 
honour.  Thou  madest  him  to  have  dominion 
over  the  works  of  Thy  hands"  (R.  V.).  A  "littU 


34  Soul  Crises 

lower  than  God!" 

What  manner  of  persons  ought  we  to  be?  As 
our  responsibilities  dawn  upon  us  we  will  stand  in 
awe,  like  Moses  before  the  burning  bush,  or  like 
Jacob  we  will  cry,  "Surely  the  Lord  is  in  this  place 
and  I  knew  it  not."  Reverence  is  an  essential 
feature  in  the  character  of  all  who  appreciate  their 
birthright.  Had  Esau  been  as  eager  to  feed  his 
mind  as  he  was  to  gratify  his  appetite,  he  would 
have  been  a  king  among  men. 

It  is  one  of  the  appalling  aspects  of  our  modern 
life  that  so  many  who  might  have  graced  promi- 
nent positions  are  feasting  their  lower  nature  and 
leaving  their  souls  to  starve.  "Behold,  I  am  at 
the  point  to  die :  and  what  profit  shall  my  birth- 
right do  to  me?"  Esau's  outburst  not  only  sug- 
gests a  lack  of  reverence,  but  reveals  a  lack  of  self- 
control.  He  could  not  hold  himself  in  check  until 
he  had  decided  whether  he  was  acting  wisely  or 
foolishly  in  agreeing  to  such  terms  as  Jacob  made. 
His  lower  nature  had  possession  of  the  reins.  He 
had  yielded  to  its  voice  so  often  that  now  it  would 
brook  no  refusal.  It  cried  out  for  a  mess  of  pot- 
tage, and  regardless  of  the  price  it  must  have  it. 

At  first  the  lower  nature  makes  very  modest  de- 
mands, but  as  these  demands  are  gratified  it  as- 
sumes alarming  proportions,  and  eventually  drags 
the  higher  nature  along  as  a  captive  in  chains. 
Beware  of  the  power  of  appetite !  To  lose  your 
self-control  puts  you  very  much  in  the  position  of 
a  man  on  a  run-away  horse.     You  do  not  know 


Ignoring  the  Crisis  35 

where  the  brute  will  carry  you. 

Esau's  impatient  outburst  also  reveals  his  pro- 
fanity. It  is  a  terrible  indictment  to  label  a  man 
profane.  In  the  Bible  Esau  is  referred  to  as  that 
"profane  person."  The  more  we  study  his  act  and 
attitude  the  more  are  we  convinced  that  this  in- 
dictment, although  severe,  is  just.  "Profane." 
The  word  of  God  very  clearly  demonstrates  that 
we  cannot  tamper  with  our  religious  privileges. 
We  trifle  with  them  at  our  peril.  A  reckless  disre- 
gard for  a  high  and  holy  calling  which  carries 
with  it  an  enduring  inheritance  reaps  its  own  har- 
vest. A  despised  birthright  culminates  in  an  ex- 
ceeding great  and  bitter  cry.  Irreverence  leads 
to  profanity,  and  a  lack  of  self-control  prepares 
the  way  to  fornication. 

Esau's  eyes  were  eventually  opened  to  the  con- 
sequences of  his  folly  and  he  tried  to  repent:  to 
undo  the  past,  but  he  was  too  late.  Tears — not 
even  tears  of  repentance — could  give  him  back  the 
birthright  he  had  despised.  How  full  of  warning 
is  Esau's  example  to  us !  "Lest  there  be  any  for- 
nicator, or  profane  person,  as  Esau,  who  for  one 
morsel  of  meat  sold  his  birthright.  For  ye  know 
how  that  afterward,  when  he  would  have  inherited 
the  blessing,  he  was  rejected,  for  he  found  no 
place  of  repentance,  though  he  sought  it  carefully 
with  tears." 

What  a  volume  of  suggestion  there  is  in  that 
word,  "afterward  I"  There  is  an  "afterward"  in 
every  life.     If  a  man  has  lived  for  God  there  is 


36  Soul  Crises 

an  afterward  of  abiding  peace,  "in  the  evening  it 
shall  be  light."  If  a  man  has  "sown  the  wind,  he 
shall  reap  the  whirlwind."  His  afterward  shall 
be  one  of  sorrow  and  remorse. 

What  have  we  done  with  our  birthright?  We 
have  a  birthright  before  which  the  birthright  of 
Esau  pales  into  insignificance.  His  birthright  car- 
ried with  it  great  privileges,  but  ours  makes  us 
"heirs  of  God  and  joint-heirs  with  Christ." 
If  it  was  a  sin  for  Esau  to  despise  his  birthright, 
''how  shall  me  escape  if  we  neglect  so  great  sal- 
vation?" 

Esau  was  too  late  for  the  blessing  which  went 
with  the  birthright  but  when  he  was  convinced  of 
the  consequences  of  his  youthful  folly  he  pleaded 
with  commendable  tenacity  before  his  father,  and 
he  did  not  plead  in  vain.  As  we  listen  to  his 
heart-broken  accents,  "Bless  me,  even  me  also,  O 
my  father!"  we  are  moved  with  compassion. 
Esau  is  beginning  to  appreciate  the  value  of  spirit- 
ual things.  As  he  continues  to  plead,  "Hast  thou 
not  reserved  a  blessing  for  me?"  we  are  reminded 
of  a  crisis  of  our  own  when  we  said,  "I  will  arise 
and  go  to  my  Father."  Esau's  final  plea  pre- 
vailed. "Hast  thou  but  one  blessing,  my  father? 
bless  me,  even  me  also,  O  my  father!" 

"And  Esau  lifted  up  his  voice  and  wept." 
Moved  by  the  importunate  cries  and  tears  of  his 
son,  Isaac  said  unto  him,  "Behold  thy  dwelling 
shall  be  the  fatness  of  the  earth,  and  of  the  dew 
of  heaven  from  above;  and  by  thy  sword  shalt 


Ignoring  the  Crisis  37 

thou  live,  and  shalt  serve  thy  brother;  and  it  shall 
come  to  pass  when  thou  shalt  have  the  dominion, 
that  thou  shalt  break  his  yoke  from  off  thy  neck." 
This  lesser  blessing  was  the  reward  of  Esau's  per- 
severing prayer  even  at  the  eleventh  hour. 

The  past  is  beyond  recall,  but  the  present  and 
the  future  are  yours.  Christ  came  "to  seek  and  to 
save  that  which  was  lost."  He  is  seeking  for  you 
and  says,  "Him  that  cometh  unto  me,  I  will  in  no 
wise  cast  out." 


CHAPTER  III 

CAN    CHRIST    DO    ANYTHING    FOR    THE    MORALLY 
UPRIGHT? 

Then  Philip  opened  his  mouth,  and  began  at  the  same  scrip- 
ture, and  preached  unto  him  Jesus. — Acts  VIII,  35. 

THE  divinity  of  Christianity  is  seen  in  its  trans- 
forming effect  upon  all  types  of  character. 
During  its  onward  march  from  the  day  on  which 
its  Founder  hung  on  Calvary's  hill  to  the  present 
it  has  given  ample  proof  of  its  adaptability  to  meet 
the  requirements  and  supply  the  needs  of  every 
age  and  clime.  In  each  succeeding  generation,  it 
has  been  the  power  of  God  unto  salvation  to  every 
man,  woman,  and  child,  who  has  believed  with  the 
heart  unto  righteousness.  The  reclaiming  and  re- 
newing of  moral  and  physical  wrecks  is  often  re- 
ferred to  as  the  peculiar  glory  of  our  holy  religion. 
This  is  a  buoyant  truth  which  shines  as  a  star  of 
hope  to  the  man  standing  on  the  brink  of  despair. 
This  truth  we  reiterate  with  sacred  joy:  Christ  is 
able  to  save  to  the  uttermost  "all  that  come  unto 
God  by  Him." 

When  the  members  of  the  Jewish  sanhedrim, 
as  they  were  straining  for  evidence  to  convict 
Peter  and  John,  beheld  the  lame  man  healed  they 

38 


Can  Christ  do  Anything  for  Upright?     39 

could  say  nothing  against  it.  They  were  too 
prejudiced  to  say  anything  in  its  favour,  but  so 
evident  was  the  fact  of  restoration  that  try  as  they 
might,  they  could  say  nothing  against  it.  Jesus 
heals  the  lame  man.  This  is  one  of  the  unan- 
swerable arguments  which  support  His  claim  to 
be  the  Son  of  God,  and  the  Saviour  of  the  world. 
When  men  like  St.  Augustine,  John  Bunyan,  and 
Jerry  McAuley  give  an  unvarnished  statement  of 
their  vices  and  then  proceed  to  relate  how  they 
were  plucked  as  brands  from  the  burning,  we  mar- 
vel. And  when  we  reflect  upon  their  transformed 
lives,  radiant  with  the  beauty  of  holiness,  and  their 
strenuous  labours  as  ambassadors  of  Christ,  we 
are  constrained  to  magnify  God  for  His  grace  in 
them.  Let  this  truth  be  universally  proclaimed: 
there  is  hope  and  pardon,  life  and  immortahty  for 
the  hardened,  blackened  transgressor.  Yes,  even 
for  the  man  who  has  lost  faith  in  himself  and  his 
fellows;  there  is  mercy  and  salvation  for  him  if 
he  will  seek  the  Lord  in  sincerity  and  in  truth. 

But  is  this  the  only  type  of  character  with  which 
Christ  is  able  do  deal  effectively?  By  no  means. 
He  welcomes  all  sorts  and  conditions  of  men,  and 
whether  their  diseases  are  appalling  to  themselves 
or  not  taken  very  seriously.  He  diagnoses  every 
case,  reveals  to  each  his  true  condition,  and  in 
His  mercy  heals  them  all.  "Whosoever  will,  may 
come,  and  partake  of  the  water  of  life  freely." 

In  this  address  It  is  my  Intention,  in  so  far  as  I 
am  able,  to  show  what  Christ  can  do  for  those  who 


40  Soul  Crises 

are  morally  upright.  There  are  large  numbers, 
especially  of  young  people,  who  have  been  reared 
in  Christian  homes,  who  have  been  shielded  by 
Christian  influences,  and  who  regularly  attend 
public  worship.  Many  of  these  pride  themselves 
upon  their  clean  lives,  and  such  are  to  be  com- 
mended for  their  uprightness.  But  what  is  the 
Lord  Christ  able  to  do  for  them?  Will  He  say 
to  such,  ''Your  training  has  been  so  satisfactory 
and  your  lives  so  free  from  open  transgression 
that  you  may  be  saved  by  proxy"  ?  No  I  He  will 
not  say  that;  although  He  fully  appreciates  all  the 
good  there  is  in  every  life. 

Good  deeds,  not  even  engaging  in  church  work, 
will  save  us.  "Not  of  works,  lest  any  man  should 
boast."  The  Ethiopian  eunuch  is  a  type  of  those 
who  are  morally  upright,  and  we  will  see  what 
Christ  did  for  him.  Let  us  make  a  brief  study 
of  his  character.  "Behold,  a  man  of  Ethiopia, 
an  eunuch  of  great  authority  under  Candace,  queen 
of  the  Ethiopians,  who  had  charge  of  all  her 
treasure,  and  had  come  to  Jerusalem  for  to  wor- 
ship, was  returning,  and  sitting  in  his  chariot  read 
Esaias,  the  prophet."  This  eunuch  was  a  re- 
markable man.  There  are  several  things  in  his 
favour,  and  I  trust  we  shall  benefit  by  his  example. 
He  was  a  man  of  culture.  This  is  evident  from 
the  statement  that  he  was  a  man  of  great  author- 
ity, also  from  the  position  which  he  occupied  as 
treasurer  for  Candace,  queen  of  the  Ethiopians. 
There  is  considerable  difference  between  a  man  of 


Can  Christ  do  Anything  for  Upright?    41 

culture  and  an  Ignoramus.  We  may  infer  rea- 
sonably that  this  eunuch  had  Improved  his  oppor- 
tunities for  getting  knowledge  and  experience. 
There  is  no  royal  road  to  success,  and  when  we 
read  that  he  was  "a  man  of  great  authority"  we 
are  reminded  of  days,  and  months,  and  probably 
years  of  diligent  study  by  way  of  preparation  for 
his  life  work. 

As  a  rule  ignorant  people  are  not  given  posi- 
tions of  responsibility.  Whatever  methods  of  pro- 
motion may  have  obtained  in  the  past  there  is  no 
uncertainty  about  the  methods  in  vogue  to-day. 
This  is  preeminently  an  age  of  scientific  knowl- 
edge. It  is  brains  and  not  patronage  that  counts. 
It  is  what  a  man  is,  and  not  what  his  rich  uncle 
or  his  father  is,  that  determines  his  position  in 
the  realm  of  affairs.  By  our  own  merits  we  stand 
or  fall.  If  we  would  live  effectively,  we  must 
specialize.  Henry  Ward  Beecher  thrilled  the  stu- 
dents of  Yale  University  when  he  gave  utterance 
to  words  well  worthy  of  our  thought.  He  said, 
"Know  something  about  everything,  but  know 
everything  about  something."  In  any  sphere  It  is 
by  no  means  satisfactory  to  have  just  enough  prac- 
tical knowledge  to  retain  a  certain  position :  the 
demand  which  is  becoming  more  and  more  Insist- 
ent Is  that  we  become  experts  In  our  respective 
callings.  We  are  not  merely  supposed  to  occupy 
certain  positions,  but  to  grace  them  with  efficiency 
and  success.  It  will  hardly  be  necessary  for  me  to 
enlarge  upon  the  advantages  of  youthful  diligence, 


42  Soul  Crises 

and  faithful  application.  The  day  will  come  when 
the  diligent  youth  will  be  rewarded  with  a  posi- 
tion of  trust  and  honour.  It  is  easy  to  talk  of  the 
eminence  of  men  like  the  late  W.  E.  Gladstone, 
but  did  they  slip  into  their  positions  by  accident? 
Look  across  the  years !  See  the  youth  Gladstone 
carefully  utilizing  half  hours  in  study  that  his 
school  mates  were  spending  in  play. 

The  Ethiopian  eunuch  was  a  trusted  servant. 
He  was  at  home  in  the  realm  of  finance,  and  he 
graced  his  position  by  efficiency  and  honour. 
Again,  He  was  a  religious  man.  We  are  apt,  with 
a  meaning  glance,  to  speak  of  a  man  as  being  of  a 
religious  turn  of  mind.  But  any  man  who  passes 
religion  by,  as  a  subject  not  worthy  of  his  notice, 
Is  either  a  superficial  observer  of  the  cardinal  facts 
of  human  life,  or  the  owner  of  a  very  shallow 
mind.  A  man's  religious  attitude  Is  a  determining 
factor  In  his  career.  This  eunuch  did  not  regard 
religion  as  a  mere  matter  of  sentiment,  but  as  a 
vital  reality.  He  was  true  to  the  light  he  had, 
and  any  man  who  is  true  to  the  light  he  has  will 
ultimately  be  led  to  the  true  light.  To  begin  with, 
he  was  a  heathen,  but  paganism  had  nothing  in  it 
with  which  to  satisfy  the  spiritual  requirements  of 
his  nature,  so  he  renounced  paganism,  and  em- 
braced Judaism.  Some  critics  are  of  the  opinion 
that  the  Jewish  religion  was  introduced  Into  Ethio- 
pia by  the  Queen  of  Sheba,  on  her  return  from 
visiting  Solomon.  This  is  hardly  probable,  al- 
though it  is  patent  that  the  eunuch  was  well  versed 


Can  Christ  do  Anything  for  Upright?     43 

in  the  faith  he  had  embraced.  He  believed  it  to 
be  the  truth,  and  he  was  consistent  In  performing 
the  duties  his  new  faith  required  of  him.  Of  his 
sincerity  we  are  assured  by  the  fact  of  his  pilgrim- 
age to  Jerusalem  to  attend  the  feast.  Although  he 
was  high  in  the  social  scale,  and  one  of  the  leading 
statesmen  of  his  country,  he  did  not  neglect  his 
religious  obligations.  Had  he  been  so  disposed,  he 
might  have  discovered  a  few  excuses  fully  as  rea- 
sonable as  are  generally  given  to  justify  absence 
from  public  worship,  but  he  was  too  good  a  man 
for  that.  As  a  rule  those  people  who  have  most  to 
do  along  domestic,  agricultural,  and  commercial 
lines  have  most  time  to  attend  to  their  moral  and 
spiritual  interests.  This  eunuch's  conduct  enables 
us  to  see  that  he  was  a  man  of  sincere  devotion. 

He  was  the  proud  possessor  of  a  copy  of  The 
Law  and  the  Prophets,  and  consequently  an  ardent 
Bible  student.  In  modern  life  books  multiply  so 
quickly  that  we  fail  to  appreciate  their  worth. 
Centuries  ago  Bibles  were  few  and  expensive; 
and  where  one  was  to  be  found,  chained  to  a  stand 
in  a  church,  and  a  reader  was  available,  there 
were  many  eager  listeners  to  the  truth.  That  the 
eunuch  had  in  his  possession  a  copy  of  the  Hebrew 
scriptures  Intimates  that  he  was  a  man  of  con- 
siderable wealth.  Note  carefully  where  his  Bible 
was.  He  did  not  have  It  put  away  at  the  back  of 
his  chariot.  In  these  days  It  seems  as  though  many 
Bibles  were  too  precious  for  every  day  use,  judg- 
ing by  the  places  in  which  they  are  to  be  found, 


44  '^oul  Crises 

provided  one  can  be  found,  when  the  preacher 
makes  a  pastoral  call.  Let  us  see  to  it  that  we 
never  become  too  busy  to  read  a  portion  of  the 
word  of  God  every  day.  A  well-thumbed  Bible  is 
a  fair  indication  of  a  prosperous  soul.  This  man 
was  not  ahead  of  us  in  possessing  a  Bible,  for  in 
the  majority  of  homes  there  are  two  or  three,  but 
he  certainly  appears  to  advantage  when  we  re- 
member that  the  minister  caught  him  in  the  act  of 
reading  it.  He  did  not  pick  it  up  and  open  it  at 
random  when  he  saw  Philip  coming,  for  he  was 
engaged  in  a  very  thoughtful  study  of  the  fifty- 
third  chapter  of  Isaiah,  and  if  ever  a  man  was 
near  the  Kingdom  it  was  he.  The  supreme  mo- 
ment in  his  history  was  fast  approaching. 

In  estimating  the  character  and  conduct  of  this 
eunuch,  you  will  readily  agree  that  he  compares 
favourably  with  the  morally  upright  persons  I  de- 
scribed at  the  beginning  of  this  address.  It  is 
sometimes  a  hard  proposition  to  convince  these 
good  people  of  their  need  of  Christ.  A  favourite 
plea  of  theirs  is,  "What  better  can  I  do?"  or 
"What  better  can  I  be?"  The  defect  of  their  po- 
sition is  that  stress  is  laid  on  good  works,  instead 
of  saving  faith.  It  is  imperative  that  we  avoid 
confusion  in  this  matter.  It  is  not  a  question  of 
being  made  better:  it  is  a  question  of  being  re- 
made. Christ  offers  a  new  heart  and  a  new  spirit 
to  morally  good  people,  as  He  does  to  all  men, 
and  the  need  is  imperative  in  every  case.  "Ye 
must  be  born  again." 


Can  Christ  do  Anything  for  Upright?     45 

This  eunuch  was  a  good  man  in  every  respect. 
He  was  a  splendid  business  man,  and  he  was  in- 
tensely religious,  yet  he  was  not  a  Christian. 
Brethren!  let  us  rest  satisfied  with  nothing  short 
of  a  whole-hearted  surrender  of  ourselves,  just 
as  we  are,  to  Jesus  Christ.  Any  man  who  seeks 
for  the  truth  as  this  man  did  will  most  assuredly 
find  it.      Man's  extremity  is  God's  opportunity. 

Shall  we  now  consider  the  change  he  experi- 
enced? There  is  something  very  sad  in  the  experi- 
ence of  this  devout  worshipper,  and  the  sadness  is 
intensified  when  we  consider  that  he  is  not  alone. 
He  had  come  on  a  pilgrimage  to  Jerusalem  for  the 
express  purpose  of  quenching  his  thirst  at  the  well 
of  truth.  He  had  studied  Judaism  until  he  came 
to  respect  and  embrace  its  teaching;  but  withal, 
the  demands  of  his  nature  were  not  satisfied,  and 
he  took  this  long  journey  to  appease  the  heart 
hunger  which  all  men  have  felt.  The  teaching  of 
the  Hebrew  scriptures  appealed  to  him  so  strongly 
that  he  wondered  if  there  were  anything  more  in 
them.  He  had  been  to  Jerusalem,  had  joined  in 
the  Temple  services,  and  was  returning  dissatis- 
fied. He  had  an  idea  that  the  last  word  had  not 
been  spoken  concerning  those  scriptures.  And  in 
his  perplexity  he  took  up  the  book,  and  began  to 
read  aloud,  pondering  every  word,  "He  was 
wounded  for  our  transgressions."  There  was 
something  very  precious  and  consoling  in  that 
chapter,  also  something  deeply  mysterious  and 
tragic    in    the    thought    of    the    innocent    being 


46  Soul  Crises 

punished  for  the  guilty.  He  could  not  understand 
it.  However,  he  continued  to  read,  "He  is  led 
as  a  lamb  to  the  slaughter." 

Just  then,  he  was  accosted  by  the  voice  of  a 
stranger,  who  in  a  friendly  manner  asked  him  if 
he  knew  what  he  was  reading.  He  replied,  "How 
can  I  except  some  man  should  guide  me?"  He  in- 
vited Philip  to  come  up  and  sit  with  him.  The 
preacher  was  glad  to  be  of  service.  When  it 
comes  to  questions  of  this  nature  never  hesitate  to 
ask  your  minister,  for  we  are  your  servants  for 
Christ's  sake.  The  eunuch  said  to  Philip,  "I  pray 
thee  of  whom  speaketh  the  prophet  this?" 
Philip  replied  to  the  eunuch's  question  by 
preaching  unto  him  Jesus.  He  related  how  the 
prophets  had  spoken  of  the  sufferings  of  Christ, 
and  the  glory  that  should  follow,  told  of  the 
mighty  promises,  told  how  the  Jews  had  been  ex- 
pecting the  Messiah.  As  these  two  men  sat  and 
talked,  the  growing  wonder  in  the  eyes  of  the  one 
lent  eloquence  to  the  tongue  of  the  other.  And 
as  Philip  was  enlarging  upon  the  glory  of  Mes- 
siah's kingdom  the  eunuch  grasped  his  arm,  and 
asked,  "Has  He  come?"  O  the  pathos!  the 
yearning  behind  those  words,  "Has  He  come?" 
In  every  age  and  in  every  country  men  have  been 
looking  and  longing  for  some  word  of  God;  and 
you  speak  of  the  Messiah,  but  tell  me  this,  "Has 
He  come?"  It  was  the  unspeakable  privilege  of 
Philip  to  break  the  news  to  this  seeking  soul,  that 
He  of  whom  the  prophets  had  spoken  had  come. 


Can  Christ  do  Anything  for  Upright?     47 

Can  you  Imagine  the  thrill  of  heavenly  delight 
which  quivered  through  the  eunuch's  frame?  I 
tell  you  of  a  truth,  that  preacher  and  his  auditor 
were  being  watched  by  the  angels.  O  stupendous 
gospel !  He  has  come  I  He,  who  is  the  bright- 
ness of  the  Father's  glory,  and  the  express  Image 
of  His  person.     Hallelujah!     He  has  come! 

The  enchanted  listener  then  urged  Philip  to  de- 
scribe the  Messiah.  Can  you  conceive  a  sublimer 
task?  Philip,  to  thee  Is  given  an  opportunity  an 
archangel  might  well  be  proud  to  embrace,  to 
describe  Jesus.  We  can  sympathise  with  him  In 
his  dilemma  for  he  is  conscious  of  attempting  an 
Impossible  task. 

Hear  him  as  he  cries,  Where  shall  I  begin? 
Shall  I  describe  His  face?  His  face  baffles  de- 
scription, but  It  beamed  with  divine  compassion  on 
the  erring  ones,  it  frowned  upon  the  hypocrite 
and  the  oppressor.  It  was  sought  and  worshipped 
by  the  children;  It  was  so  arresting  In  its  expres- 
sion, that  sinners,  haunted  by  Its  strength  and 
beauty,  forsook  their  sins  and  followed  Jesus. 

Shall  I  describe  His  hands?  Those  hands  with 
which  He  laboured  to  support  His  widowed 
mother,  those  hands  with  which  He  touched  blind 
eyes  and  restored  sight,  those  hands  with  which 
He  touched  the  bier  and  gave  a  young  man  back 
to  his  mother,  those  hands  with  which  He  touched 
the  poor  leper  as  He  said,  "I  will,  be  thou  clean." 
Shall  I  describe  His  feet?  Those  feet  which 
trod  on  errands  of  mercy  from  the  manger  to  the 


48  Soul  Crises 

cross.  Jesus,  my  Lord,  was  betrayed;  He  was 
mocked  and  scourged.  Base  men  struck  Him  in 
the  face;  and  those  hands  and  feet  were  pierced 
with  spikes,  and  nailed  to  the  cross.  He  was 
crowned  with  thorns  and  suspended  to  die,  for  sins 
not  His  own.  Philip  told  of  His  death  and  burial, 
of  how  He  rose  again,  and  ascended  to  glory. 

The  trembling  eunuch  gasped,  "Is  salvation  of 
the  Jews?" 

Philip  hastened  to  inform  him  that  the  Chris- 
tian program  embraced  the  world.  There  was 
salvation  for  all,  for  Jews  and  Ethiopians.  Hav- 
ing the  privilege  of  one  for  an  audience,  he 
preached  a  personal  Saviour.  Turning  and  facing 
the  eunuch,  Philip  said,  "Christ  died  for  you. 
Do  you  believe  it?" 

The  eunuch  replied,  "I  believe  that  Jesus  Christ 
is  the  son  of  God."  His  response  to  the  gospel 
message  was  immediate  and  his  confession  left 
nothing  to  be  desired.  "And  seeing  water  the 
eunuch  cried,  'What  doth  hinder  me  to  be  bap- 
tized?' "  The  chariot  was  brought  to  a  standstill, 
and  he  was  baptized. 

Have  you  believed  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ? 
Then  what  is  your  next  step?  The  probability  is 
that  you  already  have  been  baptized.  Were  you 
not  brought  to  the  font  by  believing  and  praying 
parents?  They  were  faithful  in  teaching  you  the 
good  and  right  way,  and  it  may  be  they  have 
passed  from  their  place  in  the  church  visible,  which 
as  yet  you  have  never  joined.    Why  tarry?    What 


Can  Christ  do  Anything  for  Upright?     49 

doth  hinder  you  to  become  a  member  of  the  body 
of  Christ?  Your  life  may  be  flawless,  so  was  the 
eunuch's.  But  neither  morality  nor  religion  will 
save  you.  You  need  Christ,  and  Christ  needs 
you.  Without  further  delay  identify  yourself  with 
His  cause,  and  by  your  confession,  your  character, 
and  conduct  preach  Jesus  to  others. 

Just  a  parting  glance  at  these  two  men  as  they 
bid  each  other  good-bye.  After  a  most  affection- 
ate farewell  they  separate  to  meet  no  more  until 
they  meet  In  heaven,  but  the  Christian  eunuch  goes 
on  his  way  rejoicing.  No  more  heart-hunger! 
No  more  anxiety!  He  need  go  no  more  on  a  pil- 
grimage to  Jerusalem.  With  Peter  he  can  say, 
*'Lord,  to  whom  shall  we  go?  Thou  hast  the 
words  of  eternal  life."  "He  went  on  his  way  re- 
joicing." O  Christ!  how  many  Thou  hast  sent 
on  their  way  rejoicing!  Think  you,  this  eunuch 
kept  his  religion  a  secret?  No!  He  told  the 
story  o'er  and  o'er.  Whenever  he  got  an  oppor- 
tunity he  preached  Jesus.     "Go  thou  and  do  like- 


CHAPTER  IV 

WHAT  MIGHT  HAVE  BEEN ! 
/  have  played  the  fool— I  Sam.  XXVI,  21. 

THIS  is  a  remarkable  expression,  especially 
when  we  consider  it  as  a  man's  verdict  re- 
garding himself.  As  a  rule  man  blames  the  other 
fellow  for  his  folly  and  wherever  circumstances 
will  permit  he  endeavours  to  justify  himself. 
Here  is  a  man  who  has  reached  a  crisis.  He  has 
made  all  the  excuses  available  to  shield  himself 
and  now  acknowledges  the  part  he  has  played. 
It  is  only  fair  to  state  that  Saul  was  not  always 
a  fool.  Billy  Bray,  the  quaint  Cornish  preacher, 
said  we  had  to  become  fools  for  Christ's  sake  and 
suggested  some  of  us  did  not  have  much  to  learn 
in  that  direction  as  we  were  fairly  big  fools  to 
begin  with,  but  Saul  was  not  one  of  these. 

Before  you  condemn  any  man  take  a  compre- 
hensive survey  of  his  life.  Give  him  credit  for 
all  his  good  qualities,  and  then  if  he  fails  after 
giving  promise  of  worthy  achievement,  it  is  a  fear- 
ful reminder  that  the  best  of  us  have  nothing  to 
boast  about,  that  we  are  only  secure  as  we  are 
kept  by  the  power  of  God !     In  many  respects 

50 


What  Might  Have  Been!  51 

Saul  was  a  model  young  man.  He  was  a  type  of 
the  young  man  who  takes  everybody  by  storm. 
We  are  kindly  disposed  to  the  young  and  the  fair 
at  any  time,  but  we  are  simply  captivated  when 
youth  is  as  good  as  it  is  handsome.  We  are  fav- 
oured with  a  description  of  Saul's  personal  ap- 
pearance in  the  second  verse  of  the  ninth  chapter 
of  the  first  book  of  Samuel.  "Now  there  was  a 
man  of  Benjamin,  whose  name  was  Kish,  a  mighty 
man  of  power.  And  he  had  a  son  whose  name 
was  Saul,  a  choice  young  man,  and  a  goodly:  and 
there  was  not  among  the  children  of  Israel  a  good- 
lier person  than  he:  from  his  shoulders  upward 
he  was  higher  than  any  of  the  people."  Saul  had 
a  splendid  physique.    He  was  tall. 

It  is  the  ambition  of  every  healthy  youth  to  be 
big,  and  Saul  was  one  of  nature's  gentlemen.  I 
suppose  it  is  an  advantage  to  be  tall.  Some  of  us, 
I  have  no  doubt,  once  thought  ourselves  a  good 
deal  bigger  than  we  are.  We  were  somewhat 
consoled  when  we  heard  that  there  was  many  a  big 
good-for-nothing.  But  a  big  good-for-nothing 
will  not  excuse  a  little  good-for-nothing  and  of 
the  two  evils  which  would  you  choose?  It  is  quite 
natural  to  want  to  be  fully  as  big,  if  not  a  little 
bigger  than  the  average.  God  has  put  a  divine 
aspiration  in  our  hearts  and  the  desire  to  be  big 
springs  from  a  longing  to  do  a  big  work.  God 
hath  set  eternity  in  the  hearts  of  the  sons  of  men 
and  when  we  are  true  to  the  highest  we  cannot  be 
satisfied  with  anything  really  small  and  superficial. 


52  Soul  Crises 

But  we  must  not  run  away  with  the  idea  that  tall- 
ness  Is  always  measured  by  inches.  One  day  Na- 
poleon was  reaching  for  a  book  which  proved  to 
be  beyond  his  reach.  An  officer  stepped  up, 
reached  the  book  and  handed  it  to  the  Emperor, 
with  the  remark  that  sometimes  it  was  a  good 
thing  to  be  tall.  The  Emperor  indicated  how 
stature  was  to  be  measured  when  he  curtly  re- 
plied "Longer  not  taller."    Watts  says: 

"Were  I  so  tall  to  reach  the  pole, 
Or  grasp  the  ocean  in  a  span, 
Man  must  be  measured  by  his  soul 
The  mind's  the  standard  of  the  man." 

Size  counts,  no  doubt,  but  mere  bigness  is  not  all, 
and  in  the  final  issue  it  is  not  what  you  can  reach 
but  what  you  can  grasp.  It  is  a  good  thing  to  be  a 
physical  giant,  but  a  moral  and  spiritual  giant  is 
infinitely  higher  both  in  the  sight  of  God  and 
man. 

Saul  was  not  merely  tall  in  stature,  he  was  also 
good-looking.  He  was  decidedly  attractive.  He 
was  the  "beauty"  or  "ornament"  of  Israel,  "a 
choice  young  man  and  a  goodly,  there  was  none 
goodlier  than  he."  We  all  want  to  be  good-look- 
ing, and  if  we  are  not  blessed  with  a  striking 
personal  appearance,  let  us  at  least  look  as  well  as 
we  can.  How  to  appear  to  the  best  advantage 
seems  to  be  the  problem  of  some  people's  existence. 
We  have  our  professional  beautifiers  who  guar^ 


What  Might  Have  Been!  53 

antee  to  make  us  look  several  years  younger  than 
we  really  are,  and  if  we  are  willing  to  submit  to 
their  treatment  they  can  give  us  any  complexion 
we  may  prefer.  Appearance  may  have  its  merits, 
but  a  true  man  is  not  built  for  show.  "Man  look- 
eth  at  the  outward  appearance,  but  God  looketh 
at  the  heart."  Beauty  of  character  Is  to  be  pre- 
ferred to  beauty  of  feature  and  the  beauty  of 
holiness  to  the  beauty  of  figure.  If  we  were  half 
so  much  concerned  about  our  souls,  as  we  are 
about  the  adornment  of  our  bodies,  we  would  cul- 
tivate a  beauty  that  would  not  forsake  us  in  our 
gray  hairs. 

Saul  was  not  only  tall  and  attractive,  he  was 
obedient.  It  was  his  prompt  obedience  to  his 
father's  command  that  sent  him  on  a  trifling  er- 
rand, but  which  in  reality  led  him  to  the  throne 
of  Israel.  Young  men !  the  most  trifling  duties  In 
life  will  decide  the  success  or  failure  of  your  ca- 
reer. It  is  an  old-fashioned  ethic  which  demands 
obedience  to  parents,  but  no  wise  man  will  say 
that  it  is  out  of  date.  Unless  you  learn  the  grace 
of  obedience  in  your  own  home,  there  Is  trouble 
which  may  amount  to  disaster  ahead  of  you. 

Besides  being  obedient,  Saul  was  generous. 
When  his  servant  suggested  that  in  the  city  there 
was  a  man  of  God  who  could  tell  them  the  where- 
abouts of  the  asses  which  had  strayed,  and  that 
they  had  better  go  to  him,  Saul  hesitated,  saying, 
"What  shall  we  bring  to  the  man?  for  the  bread 
is  spent  in  over  vessels,  and  there  is  not  a  present 


54  Soul  Crises 

to  bring  to  the  man  of  God :  what  have  we  ?"  And 
it  was  only  when  his  servant  assured  him  that 
there  was  the  fourth  part  of  a  shekel  of  silver 
left,  that  Saul  consented  to  go. 

A  generous  youth  always  appeals  to  us,  and  as 
a  rule  he  has  many  friends.  I  was  not  at  all  sur- 
prised when  I  read  of  Henry  Ward  Beecher's  say- 
ing to  the  students  of  Yale  University  that  a  mean 
man  never  made  a  successful  minister,  and  his 
saying  may  be  applied  to  every  honourable  calling 
in  life.  Generosity  is  a  pleasing  feature  in  a 
young  man's  character,  but  unless  it  is  directed  and 
controlled  by  the  grace  of  God,  it  may  lead  to 
extravagance  and  indulgence. 

Finally,  Saul  was  modest.  This  is  a  virtue  few 
of  us  suffer  from  to  any  great  extent.  When 
Samuel  the  prophet  said  to  Saul,  "And  on  whom  is 
all  the  desire  of  Israel?  Is  it  not  on  thee  and  on 
all  thy  father's  house?" 

Saul  answered  and  said,  "Am  not  I  a  Benjamite, 
of  the  smallest  of  the  tribes  of  Israel?  and  my 
family  the  least  of  all  the  families  of  the  tribe  of 
Benjamin?  Wherefore  then  speakest  thou  so  to 
me?"  Humility  and  reverence  are  graces  we 
should  strive  to  cultivate.  The  instructor  does 
not  like  the  pupil  who  will  not  be  told.  A  mer- 
chant has  very  little  use  for  the  apprentice  who 
thinks  he  knows  the  business  better  in  a  week  than 
he  does  himself.  Nobody  has  much  use  for  tKe 
man  who  seeks  to  impress  upon  all  and  sundry, 
that  he  knows  it  all.    We  are  all  learners,  and  al- 


What  Might  Have  Been!  55 

though  we  may  think  that  our  heads  are  crammed 
full  of  knowledge,  our  heads  are  not  so  very  big 
after  all.  One  of  the  first  signs  of  knowledge  is 
a  consciousness  of  our  own  ignorance.  Modesty 
becomes  us  all,  and  so  does  reverence.  Look  at 
Saul  as  he  reverently  kneels  before  the  prophet 
while  that  august  person  pours  the  anointing  oil 
upon  his  head  and  consecrates  him  king.  It  is  a 
beautiful  sight,  and  as  we  gaze  upon  it  do  we  not 
feel  that  we  owe  reverence  to  those  who  are  en- 
deavouring to  prepare  us  for  our  kingdom?  We 
owe  a  debt  of  gratitude  to  the  prophets  w^ho  have 
assisted  in  anointing  us  for  our  life's  work,  to  our 
parents,  to  our  teachers,  and  to  our  masters. 
Therefore  do  not  try  to  find  fault  with  them. 
Recognize  and  appreciate  their  good  qualities, 
their  regard  for  you,  their  patience  with  you,  and 
their  oftentimes  thankless  task. 

Now  that  we  have  got  better  acquainted  with 
Saul  we  begin  to  entertain  high  hopes  for  his  fu- 
ture. There  he  stands !  a  big,  handsome  generous- 
hearted  fellow,  an  obedient  son,  a  worthy  citizen, 
and  crowned  with  the  majesty  of  modesty.  There 
he  stands !  the  young  man  upon  whom  the  Divine 
choice  has  fallen,  in  whom  so  many  hopes  are 
centred,  and  who  is  to  enjoy  the  unspeakable  privi- 
lege of  leading  the  soldiers  of  God  on  to  victory. 
Yes,  there  he  stands,  as  many  young  men  stand 
to-day,  ready  to  begin  to  sow  upon  the  field  of 
time,  while  sympathetic  onlookers,  some  with  anx- 
ious hearts,  are  wondering  what  the  harvest  will 


^6  Soul  Crises 

be.  If  ever  any  one  made  a  good  start  Saul  did. 
He  was  admirably  adapted  to  his  work,  and  he 
made  a  most  promising  beginning.  His  first  battle 
was  prophetic  of  a  triumphant  reign.  "Nahash 
the  Ammonite  came  up,  and  encamped  against 
Jabesh  Gilead:  and  all  the  men  of  Jabesh  said 
unto  Nahash,  make  a  covenant  with  us,  and  we 
will  serve  thee.  And  Nahash  the  Ammonite  an- 
swered them,  'On  this  condition  will  I  make  a  cov- 
enant with  you,  that  I  may  thrust  out  all  your 
right  eyes,  and  lay  it  for  a  reproach  upon  all 
Israel.'  And  the  elders  of  Jabesh  said  unto  him, 
'Give  us  seven  days'  respite,  that  we  may  send 
messengers  unto  all  the  coasts  of  Israel :  and  then, 
if  there  be  no  man  to  save  us,  we  will  come  out  to 
thee.'  "  These  messengers  were  despatched;  they 
informed  the  people,  and  the  people  lifted  up  their 
voices  and  wept.  "And,  behold,  Saul  came  after 
the  herd  out  of  the  field;  and  said,  'What  aileth 
the  people  that  they  weep?'  And  they  told  him 
the  tidings  of  the  men  of  Jabesh.  And  the  Spirit 
of  God  came  upon  Saul  when  he  heard  those  tid- 
ings, and  his  anger  was  kindled  greatly.  And  he 
took  the  yoke  of  oxen,  and  hewed  them  in  pieces, 
and  sent  them  throughout  all  the  coasts  of  Israel 
by  the  hands  of  messengers  saying,  'Whosoever 
Cometh  not  forth  after  Saul  and  after  Samuel,  so 
shall  it  be  done  unto  his  oxen.'  And  the  fear  of 
the  Lord  fell  on  the  people,  and  they  came  out 
as  with  one  consent." 

How  inspiring  to  read  of  Saul's  preparations 


What  Might  Have  Been!  57 

for  his  first  encounter  with  the  enemy!  He  acted 
so  promptly  and  so  gloriously  that  he  proved  him- 
self a  king,  both  by  nature  and  by  grace.  With- 
out the  slightest  hesitation  he  showed  that  he  was 
master  of  the  occasion;  and  unconsciously  he  made 
such  a  display  of  the  essential  elements  of  leader- 
ship that  the  Israelites  were  swept  into  the  ranks 
as  one  man.  And  with  such  a  leader  in  such  a 
cause  no  wonder  he  faced,  and  fought,  and  utterly 
routed  the  foe.  So  far  Saul  has  been  all  that  we 
could  reasonably  desire.  He  has  displayed  his 
genius  as  a  citizen,  as  a  soldier,  and  as  a  king. 
We  are  somewhat  bewildered  to  think  that  a  ca- 
reer so  full  of  promise  should  eventually  close  in 
such  a  tragic  manner. 

But  when  we  look  into  his  history  a  little  more 
closely  we  see  where  he  made  his  first  mistake. 
In  the  celebration  of  this  victory  over  the  Am- 
monites, "Saul  and  the  men  of  Israel  rejoiced 
greatly."  Here  we  have  the  first  intimation  of 
his  spiritual  pride.  From  that  day  forth  Saul  was 
bigger  in  his  own  eyes,  and  perhaps  he  never  read 
the  words,  "Pride  goeth  before  a  fall." 

Young  men,  amid  your  most  brilliant  achieve- 
ments remember  to  whom  you  are  indebted  for 
your  gifts,  and  strive  earnestly  to  cultivate  the 
spirit  of  gratitude  and  meekness.  "Who  maketh 
thee  to  differ  from  another?  And  what  has  thou 
that  thou  did'st  not  receive?"  When  success  is 
crowning  your  efforts  it  is  a  time  to  rejoice  with 
trembling.     Saul  had  been  faithfully  warned  by 


58  Soul  Crises 

the  prophet  that  if  he  did  wickedly,  he  would  be 
consumed,  and  warned  we  all  have  been. 

What  was  the  first  step  taken  by  Saul  on  the 
downgrade?  Impatience.  A  garrison  of  Philis- 
tines had  advanced  as  far  as  Geba.  Jonathan 
smote  them,  and  to  avenge  themselves  the  Philis- 
tines came  against  Israel  in  full  force,  and  were 
as  the  sand  upon  the  sea  shore  for  multitude. 
Samuel  instructed  Saul  to  wait  for  seven  days, 
when  he  would  come  and  offer  sacrifice.  On  this 
occasion  Saul  revealed  his  real  character:  self-will, 
impatience,  and  disobedience.  He  waited  until  the 
morning  of  the  seventh  day,  and  seeing  no  sign 
of  the  prophet,  took  on  himself  the  awful  respon- 
sibility of  offering  the  sacrifice.  He  had  just  made 
an  end  of  offering  when  Samuel  arrived,  saying, 
*'What  hast  thou  done  ?"  Saul  endeavoured  to  jus- 
tify himself  but  the  prophet  replied,  "Thou  hast 
done  foolishly:  thou  hast  not  kept  the  command- 
ment of  the  Lord  thy  God,  which  He  commanded 
thee :  for  now  would  He  have  established  thy  king- 
dom upon  Israel  for  ever.  But  now  thy  kingdom 
shall  not  continue."  Had  Saul  waited  another 
hour  or  two  he  would  have  saved  his  kingdom  to 
his  sons  in  their  successive  generations. 

Alas !  how  much  we  lose  by  our  impatience. 
What  other  sin  is  so  rampant  to-day?  Impa- 
tience is  one  of  the  outstanding  sins  of  our  time? 
Everybody  is  in  a  hurry,  we  have  to  rush  through 
with  everything  we  undertake  to  do,  we  are  getting 
impatient  of  abiding  God's  time,  and  so,  like  Saul, 


What  Might  Have  Been!  59 

we  sacrifice  principle  for  expediency,  and  risk  our 
souls  for  gain.  Impatience  Is  the  secret  of  gam- 
bling. Men  are  too  Impatient  to  acquire  gain  by 
legitimate  methods,  and  so  seek  quick  returns  on 
the  wheel  of  chance.  Many  a  young  man  plays 
his  cards  well  for  a  while,  according  to  his  own 
notion,  but  no  matter  how  well  he  plays,  sooner 
or  later,  he  will  acknowledge,  as  those  unnatural 
fires  consume  his  manhood,  that  he  has  played 
the  fool. 

Impatience  Is  the  secret  of  the  liquor  traffic. 
Think  you  that  the  liquor  dealer  Is  In  the  business 
because  he  Is  actuated  by  philanthropic  motives? 
An  eye-witness  related  to  me  the  following  Inci- 
dent. A  certain  man  was  drinking  one  evening  In 
a  bar-room.  It  was  getting  late  when  a  woman 
entered,  and  going  up  to  the  man  she  asked  him 
for  some  money  to  buy  food  for  their  starving 
children.  Her  husband  turned  around  and  for 
answer,  deliberately  struck  his  wife  In  the  face, 
knocking  her  senseless  to  the  floor.  The  hotel 
proprietor  came  rushing  In,  and  seeing  the  woman, 
the  wife  of  that  husband  and  father,  who  had  been 
transformed  Into  a  demon  through  drink,  that 
mother  of  starving  children  In  a  land  boasting  of 
civilization  and  liberty,  that  poor  half-starved 
creature  lying  In  that  condition  on  the  floor,  and 
looking  at  the  men  present  who  were  patroniz- 
ing the  bar,  he  said,  "This  Is  awful  boys,  but 
there's  money  In  It." 

Young  man.  If  there  Is  money  In  It  for  the  pro- 


6o  Soul  Crises 

prietor  what  is  there  in  it  for  you?  Indulgence, 
pauperism,  and  possibly  the  gallows,  or  a  drunk- 
ard's grave.  Can  it  be  that  the  prophecy  is  being 
fulfilled  in  your  case  which  reads,  "The  fool  and 
his  money  are  soon  parted?" 

If  we  yield  to  the  temptation  to  become  impa- 
tient of  honesty  and  integrity  in  seeking  a  liveli- 
hood, and  pay  too  big  a  price  for  success,  in  the 
midst  of  our  questionable  gains,  we  will  hear  a 
voice  saying,  "Thou  fool,  this  night  thy  soul  shall 
be  required  of  thee." 

God  gave  Saul  another  splendid  opportunity  of 
redeeming  his  character,  but  in  this  he  failed 
through  disobedience.  The  command  was,  go  and 
utterly  destroy  the  Amalekites.  Saul  went  in 
obedience  to  this  command,  and  destroyed  the 
Amalekites  with  the  exception  of  the  king  and  the 
best  of  the  sheep  and  oxen.  "And  Samuel  came 
to  Saul:  and  Saul  said  unto  him,  'Blessed  be  thou 
of  the  Lord;  I  have  performed  the  commandment 
of  the  Lord.'  And  Samuel  said,  'What  meaneth 
then  this  bleating  of  the  sheep  in  mine  ears,  and 
the  lowing  of  the  oxen  which  I  hear?'  "  Again 
Saul  sought  to  excuse  himself  and  to  blame  the 
people  for  the  spoil.  The  prophet  was  not  to  be 
silenced  by  Saul's  excuses.  In  solemn  tones  he 
replied,  "Behold,  to  obey  is  better  than  sacrifice. 
Because  thou  hast  rejected  the  word  of  the  Lord, 
He  also  hath  rejected  thee  from  being  king." 
When  Saul  heard  the  worst  he  acknowledged 
the    cause    of    his    failure,    and    said,    "I    have 


What  Might  Have  Been!  6i 

sinned:  because  I  feared  the  people,  and  obeyed 
their  voice." 

Like  many  to-day,  Saul  feared  the  people  more 
than  he  feared  God.  Through  disobedience  he 
won  a  flock  of  sheep  and  a  herd  of  cattle,  but  at 
what  a  price  !  In  the  moral  realm,  every  man  pays 
the  price.  The  price  Saul  paid  was  his  kingdom, 
and  in  that  awful  transaction  he  lost  his  God. 
Here  we  have  a  concrete  illustration  of  sin  in  its 
working.  Progress  is  made  along  "a  way  that 
seemeth  right  unto  a  man,  but  the  end  thereof  are 
the  ways  of  death."  At  the  point  of  departure 
from  the  path  of  righteousness,  we  discern  the 
unmistakable  features  of  pride,  this  leads  to  im- 
patience, impatience  of  piety,  impatience  of  hon- 
esty, impatience  of  conscientious  scruples,  and  this 
prepares  the  way  for  disobedience  to  God  and 
every  accepted  standard  of  right.  The  man  who 
has  been  playing  with  evil  is  like  Saul  who  "wFst 
not  that  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  had  departed  from 
him." 

Having  sinned  away  his  day  of  grace,  Saul, 
who  had  been  distinguishedTor  his  generous  cour- 
age, stands  subdued  before  the  uncircumcised 
Philistine,  Goliath  of  Gath.  Daily  this  haughty 
heretic  comes  forth  to  defy  the  armies  of  the  liv- 
ing God.  What  a  sorry  part  is  now  being  played 
by  a  man  who  had  once  been  a  hero !  \  man 
who  had  once  faced  a  crisis  in  a  terrible  might, 
and  without  waiting  to  ask  the  reason  why,  had 
hewed  his  oxen  to  pieces,  sent  portions  through- 


62  Soul  Crises 

out  Israel,  had  raised  his  army  as  if  by  magic, 
had  struck  terror  into  the  hearts  of  the  Ammon- 
ites, and  now,  to  be  brow-beaten  and  intimidated 
by  a  single  Philistine  must  be  mortifying  in  the 
extreme.  It  would  be  a  farce  were  it  not  the 
story  of  a  great  moral  tragedy.  Is  there  none  to 
be  found  in  the  ranks  of  the  regulars  to  take  away 
this  reproach?  No!  not  one.  The  uncertain  de- 
meanor of  the  handsome  giant  of  Israel  has  had 
a  deadly  effect  upon  every  man  on  the  field. 

To  save  the  day,  God  sends  forth  a  young  man 
after  His  own  heart.  The  youngest  son  of  Jesse, 
the  ruddy  shepherd  youth  who  has  been  sent  with 
supplies  to  the  ranks,  and  who  has  not  yet  learned 
to  doubt  the  might  of  God,  goes  against  the  Philis- 
tine, and  smites  him  dead  with  a  stone  from  his 
sling.  For  this  deliverance  David  is  praised  by 
the  maidens  of  Israel  who  celebrate  the  victory  by 
singing,  "Saul  hath  slain  his  thousands  and  David 
his  ten  thousands."  This  popular  recognition  of 
David's  achievement  enrages  the  jealous  Saul,  and 
he  secretly  determines  to  take  David's  life,  and 
thus  cheat  Providence  by  disposing  of  all  possible 
rivals.  An  evil  spirit  came  upon  Saul  and  at 
times  he  was  insane.  He  attempts  to  take  David's 
life,  but  David  escapes;  and  can  you  imagine  any- 
thing quite  so  tragic  as  the  insane  Saul  on  a  fool's 
errand,  seeking  to  slay  the  Lord's  anointed? 

Many  are  on  the  same  errand  to-day.  "Fret 
not  thyself  because  of  evil  doers."  Some  of  us 
fret  a  great  deal  and  are  daily  kept  in  bondage. 


What  Might  Have  Been!  63 

Even  David  said,  "One  of  these  days  I  shall  fall 
by  the  hand  of  Saul."  No,  David!  thou  art  re- 
served for  something  great !  and  you  poor  annoyed 
soul,  if  it  hath  pleased  God  to  reveal  His  son  in 
you.  He  has  a  work  for  you  to  do;  and  by  fret- 
ting yourself  because  of  evil  doers,  you  may  be 
unfitting  yourself  for  your  divinely  appointed  task. 

It  was  on  one  of  these  escapades  against  the 
innocent  and  unoffending  David  that  the  pursued 
came  upon  the  pursuer.  David  caught  Saul  and 
his  followers  asleep  and  his  servant  urged  him  to 
smite,  but  David  said,  "The  Lord  forbid  that  I 
should  stretch  forth  mine  hand  against  the  Lord's 
anointed:  but,  take  now  the  spear  that  is  at  his 
bolster,  and  the  cruse  of  water,  and  let  us  go." 
David  withdrew  and  waited;  and  when  Saul  and 
his  soldiers  came  forth  he  cried  to  Abner  and 
Saul  knew  his  voice.  David  lifting  up  the  king's 
spear  asked  what  evil  he  had  done.  And  Saul 
smitten  with  a  sense  of  shame  cried,  "I  have 
sinned:  return,  my  son  David;  for  I  will  no  more 
do  thee  harm,  because  my  soul  was  precious  in 
thine  eyes  this  day:  behold,  I  have  played  the  fool, 
and  have  erred  exceedingly." 

Saul,  thou  art  near  to  a  more  enduring  kingdom 
than  the  one  thou  hast  lost!  Thou  hast  never 
been  nearer  the  fulfilment  of  the  majestic  prom- 
ise of  thy  youth  than  thou  art  now  !  How  near  to 
repentance  unto  life,  and  yet  how  far! 

We  have  to  pass  over  much  that  is  interesting. 
We  cannot  spend  his  last  night  with  him.     But 


64  Soul  Crises 

where  will  you  find  a  sadder  story  of  a  soul  that 
has  made  shipwreck  of  faith  and  of  a  good  con- 
science than  that  which  relates  how  poor,  godless, 
wretched  Saul,  mad  with  despair,  flung  himself 
upon  his  bloody  sword,  and  died  the  death  of  a 
suicide?  Poor  Saul!  He  played  the  fool  in  his 
life,  and  crowned  his  folly  by  dying  as  the  fool 
dieth.  As  a  warning  to  others  write  upon  his 
tombstone,  "I  have  played  the  fool." 

Usually  a  man  plays  the  fool  a  long  time  be- 
fore he  knows  it.  In  fact,  he  thinks  he  is  smart 
and  getting  ahead  of  everybody,  he  carries  him- 
self with  a  self-satisfied  air,  when,  all  unknown  to 
nobody  but  himself,  he  is  playing  the  fool.  A 
man  plays  the  fool  a  long  time  before  he  will  ac- 
knowledge it.  His  usual  plea  is,  "I  see  no  harm 
in  it,  the  company  is  congenial,  and  I  am  no  fool." 
Eventually  with  all  his  fine  parts,  in  the  face  of 
murdered  opportunities  and  a  wasted  frame  he 
cries,  "I  have  played  the  fool." 

The  once  mighty  and  majestic  Saul  has  fallen, 
and  mourn  for  him  as  we  may,  we  cannot  bring 
him  back  to  play  his  part  again.  We  pass  this 
way  but  once.  What's  done  cannot  be  undone. 
The  one  redeeming  feature  in  this  dark  picture 
is  that  the  people  of  Jabesh-Gilead  remembered 
Saul  as  they  knew  him,  the  victorious  monarch. 
They  rescued  his  body  from  the  Philistines  and 
buried  him  with  every  token  of  reverence  and  re- 
spect. What  a  different  career  Saul's  might  have 
been.     O  that  he  had  been  true !      But  all  our 


What  Might  Have  Been!  65 

wishes  avail  nothing.  There  Is  one  wish  we  have, 
however,  we  wish  he  had  not  been  such  a  fool  as  to 
think  he  could  cheat  God.  What  part  are  you 
playing? 


CHAPTER  V 

A   PRESENT   CRISIS 

What  shall  I  do  then  ivith  Jesus  which  is  called  Christ? — 
Matt.  XXVII,  22. 

THE  scene  to  which  we  are  introduced  by  the 
words  of  our  text  did  not  have  much  more 
than  a  local  significance  when  it  was  enacted,  but 
time  has  proved  it  to  be  one  of  the  most  significant 
dramas  ever  played  upon  the  stage  of  history. 
Jesus  stands  in  the  open  court  of  the  governor's 
palace  in  the  presence  of  Pilate  and  His  accusers. 
He  has  been  tried  by  His  fellow  countrymen,  and 
in  their  judgment  found  worthy  of  death.  The 
charges  brought  against  Him  had  been  of  too 
flimsy  a  nature,  even  to  satisfy  a  bigoted  Jewish 
tribunal.  False  witnesses  had  been  engaged  to 
swear  away  His  life,  but  they  utterly  failed  in 
their  undertaking.  After  hearing  several  wit- 
nesses the  high  priest  said  unto  Him,  "  'I  adjure 
thee  by  the  living  God,  that  thou  tell  us  whether 
thou  be  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  God.' 

''Jesus  saith  unto  him,  'Thou  hast  said :  never- 
theless I  say  unto  you.  Hereafter  shall  ye  see  the 
Son  of  man  sitting  on  the  right  hand  of  power, 
and  coming  in  the  clouds  of  heaven.' 

66 


A  Present  Crisis  67 

"Then  the  high  priest  rent  his  clothes,  saying, 
'He  hath  spoken  blasphemy;  what  further  need 
have  we  of  witnesses?  behold,  now  ye  have  heard 
this  blasphemy.     What  think  ye?' 

"They  answered  and  said,  'He  is  guilty  of 
death;  *' 

After  suffering  shameful  treatment  at  the  hands 
of  these  chosen  people  in  which  they  spit  in  His 
face    and   smite    Him    with   their   hands    saying, 
"Prophesy  unto  us,  thou  Christ,  Who  is  he  that 
smote  thee?"     He  was  brought  into  the  presence 
of  Pilate  to  have  their  decision  confirmed.    There 
He  stands  before  Pilate  awaiting  his  judgment! 
As  we  gaze  upon  the  scene  we  cannot  help  feeling 
it  is  a  solemn  moment  for  Christ.    It  is  an  anxious 
time  when  a  man  stands  in  a  court  of  law  awaiting 
the  decision  of  the  judge  respecting  a  minor  of- 
fence, but  what  must  it  be  to  the  man  just  prior 
to  the  pronouncement  of  the  sentence  when  life 
and  death  are  hanging  in  the  balance?    There  was 
nothing  very  exceptional  in  the  circumstances  of 
this  trial.     Those  interested,  as  on  similar  occa- 
sions, sought  to  make  the  most  of  their  side  of  the 
situation.     Often  before,  Pilate  had  heard  their 
arguments,   had  pronounced   judgment,    and   dis- 
missed these  troublesome  Jews  without  a  serious 
thought.     To  show  his  utter  disregard  for  what 
the  Jews  termed  holy  ground  he  once  issued  or- 
ders for  the  execution  of  certain  disturbers  of  the 
peace  whose  blood  he  mingled  with  their  sacrifices 
without  a  qualm  of  conscience. 


68  Soul  Crises 

But  there  Is  no  gainsaying  the  fact  that  he  is 
ill  at  ease  to-day.  What  accounts  for  this  change 
in  Pilate  as  he  sits  in  circumstances  so  familiar? 
Merely  the  difference  of  a  few  details.  The  first 
of  these  is  the  demeanor  of  the  prisoner.  This 
prisoner  is  in  a  class  by  Himself.  Other  prison- 
ers acted  so  differently.  Invariably  they  sought 
to  justify  themselves,  while  this  prisoner  is  calm 
and  resigned.  There  is  such  a  look  of  gentleness 
in  His  features;  and  He  is  so  dignified  in  His  bear- 
ing as  to  make  Pilate  feel  uncomfortable.  This 
was  a  new  feeling  for  Pilate.  Yesterday  he  was  a 
big  man :  the  man  of  the  hour;  a  man  in  authority; 
the  Roman  procurator;  a  dread  force  to  be  reck- 
oned with — one  whose  words  made  men  tremble, 
but  to-day  he  feels  weak  and  uncertain  in  the  pres- 
ence of  this  poor,  despised,  lonely  man.  Never 
before  had  he  seen  such  a  prisoner  as  this.  He 
had  often  seen  prisoners  show  their  teeth,  and 
vow  vengeance  on  their  tormentors,  but  this  pris- 
oner Is  so  different. 

Pilate  thinks,  and  the  more  he  thinks  the  more 
he  hesitates.  Presently  a  happy  thought  strikes 
him.  It  was  customary  at  the  feast  to  release  a 
prisoner  whom  the  people  desired.  In  prison  lay 
a  notable  outlaw  who  had  been  guilty  of  murder. 
Here  was  Pilate's  opportunity  to  get  out  of  a  diffi- 
cult situation;  and  believing  they  would  choose 
Christ  he  cried,  "Whom  will  ye  that  I  release 
unto  you?  Barabbas,  or  Jesus,  which  Is  called 
Christ?"     At  this  juncture  he  received  a  message 


A  Present  Crisis  69 

from  his  wife  saying,  "Have  thou  nothing  to  do 
with  that  just  man:  for  I  have  suffered  many 
things  this  day  In  a  dream  because  of  Him."  A 
dream!  What  did  he  care  for  a  dream?  At  any 
other  time  he  would  have  laughed  at  a  dream  and 
Ignored  It,  but  to-day  he  cannot  act  like  himself  at 
all.  Try  as  he  will  he  cannot  suppress  the  tumult 
raging  within.  What  are  these  misgivings  and 
these  warnings?  And  what  do  they  signify?  For 
I  am  not  naturally  superstitious:  and  with  these 
thoughts  In  his  mind  he  calls  again  to  the  people, 
"Whether  of  the  twain  will  ye  that  I  release  unto 
you?"  And  to  his  dismay  they  choose  Barabbas. 
Then  In  reply  to  their  choice  he  cries,  "What  shall 
I  do  then  with  Jesus  which  is  called  Christ?"  And 
the  people  persuaded  by  the  priests  answer,  "Cru- 
cify Him." 

This  request  startled  the  already  perplexed  and 
hesitating  Pilate.  This  was  the  first  time  the  Jew* 
had  requested  that  one  of  their  countrymen  should 
be  degraded  by  such  a  shameful  death.  Pilate 
took  the  prisoner  behind,  and  In  a  short  time  re- 
turned, saying,  "I  find  no  fault  In  Him."  This 
led  the  mob  which  was  reaching  the  height  of  Its 
frenzy  to  yell  in  louder  strains,  "Away  with  Him, 
away  with  Him,  crucify  Him."  And  as  a  final  rea- 
son they  cried,  "We  have  a  law,  and  by  our  law 
He  ought  to  die,  because  He  made  Himself  the 
Son  of  God."  Pilate  hearing  this  charge  was  the 
more  afraid.  Thinking  that  he  might  reach  a 
satisfactory  conclusion  of  this  event  which  is  deep- 


70  Soul  Crises 

ening  Into  tragedy  he  takes  his  prisoner  again  Into 
the  judgment  hall.  Here,  behind  the  scenes,  there 
Is  no  apology,  no  passionate  pleading  for  His  life 
on  the  part  of  the  prisoner,  and  what  Pilate 
wanted  above  everything  else  was  for  this  strange 
man  to  speak.  When  shall  we  learn  the  eloquence 
of  silence?  Pilate  said,  "Hearest  thou  not  how 
many  things  they  witness  against  thee?"  And  He 
answered  him  not  a  word.  This  intensified  Pi- 
late's anxiety  and  making  a  supreme  effort  to  re- 
assert himself  he  said,  "Speakest  thou  not  unto 
me?  Knowest  thou  not  that  I  have  power  to 
crucify  thee,  and  have  power  to  release  thee?" 

Jesus  answered,  "Thou  couldest  have  no  power 
at  all  against  me,  except  It  were  given  thee  from 
above."  The  scene  has  taken  a  dramatic  turn.  It 
is  not  now  Christ  standing  before  Pilate,  it  Is  Pi- 
late before  Christ.  It  Is  Pilate  who  is  being 
judged  and  he  finds  that  the  question  he  has  just 
asked  the  multitude  expresses  his  deepest  thought: 

"What  shall  I  do  then  with  Jesus  which  is 
called  Christ?"  That  was  a  solemn  moment  for 
Pilate !  This  is  a  solemn  moment  for  you !  In 
a  more  real  sense  than  you  are  aware  your  decision 
during  this  hour  will  decide  your  destiny.  "What 
shall  I  do  then  with  Jesus  which  Is  called  Christ?" 
This  is  a  living  question.  It  is  a  question  which 
demands  our  deliberate  and  reverent  attention.  A 
more  real  question  could  not  occupy  our  thoughts. 
The  answer  to  this  question  more  than  any  other 
has  stood  for  the  rise  and  fall  of  nations.      In 


A  Present  Crisis  71 

getting  Pilate  to  grant  their  request  to  crucify 
Christ  the  Jews  thereby  thought  to  destroy  Him, 
but  the  crucified  Christ  was  not  destroyed.  What 
His  enemies  did  with  Him  to  end  Him  was  really 
the  starting  point  of  a  momentous  power,  a.power 
that  has  changed  the  current  of  the  world's  history 
and  still  governs  the  ages.  Christ  and  Him  cruci- 
fied is  the  master  force  in  history.  He  is  the 
supreme  commander  of  the  world's  forces  to-day. 
We  find  Him  everywhere  and  try  as  we  may  we 
are  compelled  to  acknowledge  Him  the  unavoid- 
able Christ.  As  Dr.  W.  J.  Dawson  has  suggested, 
"We  met  Him  at  our  feasts,  in  our  temples,  in 
our  streets,  in  our  fields,  among  our  law-makers, 
over  against  our  treasuries,  in  our  homes,  among 
our  children,  at  the  burial  of  our  dead."  ^  Jesus 
is  the  most  real  person  that  we  meet  and  the  words 
of  Pilate  have  become  a  National  Question. 
"What  shall  I  do  then  with  Jesus  which  is  called 
Christ?"  The  very  existence  of  nations  depends 
upon  their  attitude  to  this  question. 

It  was  so  with  the  Jews.  They  had  privileges 
beyond  compare.  To  them  Christ  came.  To 
them  He  preached.  Among  them  He  laboured. 
In  Galilee  and  Judea  He  was  a  familiar  figure  as 
He  went  about  doing  good,  healing  the  sick,  re- 
storing the  blind  to  sight,  and  raising  the  dead. 
He  taught  them  as  one  having  authority,  and  not 
as  the  scribes.  He  lavished  His  love  upon  them, 
and  pleaded  with  them,  but  in  spite  of  His  love 

^  The  Evangelistic  Note. 


72  Soul  Crises 

and  compassion  they  rejected  Him.  That  nation 
with  a  unique  past,  boasting  a  succession  of  elders 
and  prophets  who  through  faith  had  subdued  king- 
doms and  wrought  righteousness,  stopped  the 
mouths  of  lions  and  quenched  the  violence  of  fire: 
these,  the  children  of  the  prophets,  knew  not  the 
time  of  their  visitation.  As  our  Lord  neared  the 
city  of  Jerusalem, — Jerusalem  once  so  renowned 
for  her  valiant  sons,  sitting  secure  as  a  queen 
among  the  nations,  Jerusalem,  extolled  for  her 
zeal  and  devotion  to  God,  once  the  joy  of  the 
whole  earth, — how  did  He  view  it?  His  view 
of  it  is  given  In  one  of  the  most  pathetic  passages 
In  literature.  "When  He  beheld  the  city  He  wept 
over  It,  saying,  Tf  thou  hadst  known,  even  thou, 
at  least  in  this  thy  day,  the  things  which  belong 
unto  thy  peace !  but  now  they  are  hid  from  thine 
eyes.  For  the  days  shall  come  upon  thee,  that 
thine  enemies  shall  cast  a  trench  about  thee,  and 
compass  thee  round,  and  keep  thee  in  on  every 
side,  and  shall  lay  thee  even  with  the  ground, 
and  thy  children  within  thee;  and  they  shall  not 
leave  In  thee  one  stone  upon  another;  because  thou 
knewest  not  the  time  of  thy  visitation.'  " 

Jerusalem  wrote  her  doom  In  human  gore  when 
she  cried,  "His  blood  be  on  us,  and  on  our  chil- 
dren." To-day  the  Jew  is  an  outcast  in  the  earth. 
He  indeed  is  a  man  without  a  country;  an  exile 
from  his  native  land. 

What  was  true  of  the  Jews  was  also  true  of  the 
Greeks.    As  we  study  Plato's  philosophy  and  read 


A  Present  Crisis  73 

his  Ideal  State,  we  marvel  at  the  range  and  grasp 
of  his  brllHant  mind.  We  hardly  can  refrain  from 
thinking  that  an  Empire  with  such  sons  would 
impress  and  triumph  over  surrounding  nations,  and 
continue  her  march  until  she  had  completed  the 
conquest  of  the  world.  But  Greece  was  only  as 
brilliant  as  she  was  short-lived,  and  how  fearfully 
true  are  the  words  when  applied  to  her,  "The 
world  by  wisdom  knew  not  God."  When  St.  Paul 
came  Into  contact  on  Mars  Hill  with  some  of  the 
sons  of  Greece  who  spent  their  time  In  nothing 
else,  but  either  to  tell  or  hear  some  new  thing, 
they  listened  to  him,  but  when  they  learned  that 
his  gospel  was  Christ  and  Him  crucified,  some 
mocked.  Yet  who  will  deny  that  Paul  was  preach- 
ing a  gospel  of  which  he  need  never  be  ashamed? 
It  was  not  Greece,  however,  but  Rome,  that 
was  brought  face  to  face  with  the  question  "What 
shall  I  do  then  with  Jesus  which  Is  called  Christ?" 
Rome  decided  to  crucify  Him  afresh,  and  to  oblit- 
erate every  reference  to  His  name.  War  was  de- 
clared on  the  Christians,  and  by  a  series  of  dire 
persecutions  Rome  did  her  utmost  to  crush  the 
cause  of  the  Nazarene.  Although  it  meant 
penury,  suffering,  and  death  in  its  most  revolting 
forms,  thousands  gladly  laid  down  their  lives,  and 
eventually  Christ  conquered.  The  imperial  might 
of  Rome  was  Impotent  before  the  constraining 
love  of  Christ.  And  what  shall  we  say  more? 
Western  civilization  owes  Its  victories  to  "Jesus 
which  is  called  Christ."     The  most  superficial  ob- 


74  Soul  Crises 

server  cannot  fail  to  see  that  those  nations  which 
have  risen  from  obscurity  to  power  are  those 
which  have  embraced  Christianity.  We  talk  very 
eloquently  to-day  about  education  and  politics;  and 
in  the  estimation  of  some  these  and  not  religion 
are  the  important  questions.  But  the  great  proba- 
bility is,  that  if  we  had  had  no  Christianity  there 
would  be  no  education  or  civil  rights  of  any  worthy 
character.  Who  has  given  us  our  educational 
and  moral  standards?  "Jesus  which  is  called 
Christ." 

When  we  begin  to  consider  our  statesmen,  we 
find  ourselves  not  so  much  concerned  about  what 
they  have  said  as  what  they  have  done,  not  so 
much  which  party  do  they  represent,  as  what  do 
they  stand  for?  Have  they  the  best  interests  of 
their  fellows  at  heart?  Do  they  stand  for  justice 
and  humanity:  and  before  we  are  aware  of  it  we 
are  asking  our  statesmen  what  they  are  going  to  do 
with  "Jesus  which  is  called  Christ"?  Only  by 
the  recognition  and  application  of  Christian  prin- 
ciples can  modern  nations  hope  to  go  on  prosper- 
ing. We  belong  to  a  nation  of  which  we  have 
every  reason  to  be  proud,  and  may  we  as  loyal  citi- 
zens from  the  least  to  the  greatest  take  up  the 
resolution  of  Abraham  Lincoln,  that  prince  among 
Christian  statesmen.  When  the  Civil  War  was 
raging  a  man  said  to  him,  "I  hope  God  will  be  on 
our  side." 

"Sir,"  said  Lincoln,  "I  have  never  yet  asked 
myself  whether  God  was  on  my  side  or  not,  but  I 


A  Present  Crisis  75 

tell  you  what,  sir,  I  am  determined  to  be  on  God's 
side."  1 

"What  shall  I  do  then  with  Jesus  which  is  called 
Christ?"  This  is  a  Commercial  Question.  Some 
of  you  may  be  shocked  at  the  idea  of  any  one 
talking  about  commerce  in  a  religious  service.  We 
have  talked  too  long  as  though  Christianity  were 
for  the  Sabbath  day,  something  to  be  laid  care- 
fully away  with  our  Sunday  clothes,  too  delicate  to 
stand  the  wear  and  tear  of  every-day  life.  Un- 
less Christian  principles  are  introduced  into  com- 
mercial circles  and  practised  in  commercial  life 
we  may  despair  of  national  salvation,  to  say  noth- 
ing of  the  salvation  of  the  world.  If  you  are  not 
a  better  business  man,  more  conscientious,  fully 
trustworthy,  deviating  neither  to  the  right  hand 
nor  to  the  left,  because  you  are  a  Christian,  then, 
in  reality,  you  never  have  known  Christ,  or  you 
have  decided  against  Him,  and  voted  for  the  re- 
lease of  Barabbas.  How  exceeding  sinful  and 
shortsighted  people  are  who  prefer  Barabbas  to 
Christ!  How  humiliating  it  is,  in  this  the  twen- 
tieth century  to  have  to  confess  that  Barrabas  is 
still  at  large.  Barabbas  is  a  robber,  it  is  his  na- 
ture to  take,  and,  given  an  opportunity,  he  will  re- 
lieve you  of  all  you  possess.  Christ  gives  and 
from  an  economic  standpoint,  if  from  no  higher, 
you  will  one  day  acknowledge  that  "Godliness  is 
profitable  unto  all  things  having  the  promise  of  the 
life  that  now  is,  and  of  that  which  is  to  come." 

^  The  Divine  Challenge. 


76  Soul  Crises 

Whether  you  realize  It  or  not,  Jesus  stands  beside 
you  as  you  work.  He  Is  near  you  as  you  buy  and 
sell  and  get  gain.  And  often  He  speaks  to  you 
and  endeavours  to  ascertain  what  Is  going  to  be 
the  end  of  all  your  efforts.  "Take  heed  and  be- 
ware of  covetousness  for  a  man's  life  conslsteth 
not  In  the  abundance  of  the  things  which  he  pos- 
sesseth."  "Man  shall  not  live  by  bread  alone,  but 
by  every  word  that  proceedeth  out  of  the  mouth 
of  God."  May  all  our  commercial  enterprises  be 
so  conducted  as  to  be  an  aid  and  not  a  hindrance, 
to  the  development  of  Christian  character. 

"What  shall  I  do  then  with  Jesus  which  Is  called 
Christ?"  This  Is  a  Domestic  Question.  All  who 
can  speak  from  experience  will  bear  witness  that 
one  of  the  grandest  Institutions  we  enjoy  Is  the 
Christian  home.  Many  a  young  man  has  wan- 
dered far  astray,  and  as  he  wanders  in  the  far 
country  of  sin  he  Is  indifferent  to  many  calls,  but 
there  is  one  song  he  cannot  listen  to  with  indif- 
ference. It  is  "Home,  sweet  Home."  What  has 
Christ  done  for  our  homes?  What  has  He  done 
for  Father?  He  has  given  him  a  father's  heart 
and  made  him  like  work.  We  speak  to-day,  and 
rightly  so,  of  the  dignity  of  labour.  We  recog- 
nize the  ennobling  nature  and  Influence  of  honest 
toll,  but  lest  we  forget  that  It  Is  something  com- 
paratively new  for  men  to  regard  manual  labour 
favorably,  I  wish  to  remind  you  that  when  Plato 
wrote  his  Ideal  State  it  never  crossed  his  mind 
that  a  state  could  exist  without  slavery.     Work 


A  Present  Crisis  77 

was  fit  only  for  slaves.  Slaves  were  regarded  as 
beings  of  an  inferior  order,  and  treated  accord- 
ingly. A  Roman  could  torture  his  slave  and  put 
him  to  death  and  no  one  asked  the  reason.  To- 
day slavery  has  been  abolished,  and  labour  upon 
which  the  Roman  looked  down  with  disdain  is  hon- 
oured and  appreciated.  Every  respectable  man 
is  employed;  when  he  finds  his  right  sphere  he 
enjoys  his  work,  and  when  the  day's  work  is  done 
there  is  a  smiling  welcome  home. 

What  has  Christ  done  for  Mother?  Mother! 
one  of  the  dearest  names  in  our  language.  Can 
we  Imagine  what  mothers  have  suffered,  and  how 
they  have  been  degraded?  Even  to-day  in  heathen 
lands  the  mother  Is  regarded  as  a  being  without 
a  soul,  and  Is  treated  with  the  indignity  of  a  slave. 
In  Christian  lands,  woman  is  not  merely  respected 
but  revered,  and  she  takes  her  place,  by  his  side, 
as  the  helpmeet  of  man.  As  we  value  the  love 
and  care  of  our  mothers,  let  us  remember  that 
we  owe  It  to  Christ. 

What  has  Christ  done  for  the  child?  In  the 
days  of  His  flesh,  Jesus  took  a  little  child  and 
set  him  in  the  midst.  There  he  stands  to-day. 
For  him  we  live,  for  him  we  toil,  for  him  we  pray. 
In  Rome  a  father  could  put  his  child  to  death  and 
no  one  asked  any  questions,  but  Jesus  said,  "Suf- 
fer the  little  children  to  come  unto  Me,  for  of  such 
Is  the  kingdom  of  heaven." 

Fathers!  Mothers!  Sons!  and  Daughters!  you 
have  heard  a  little  of  what  Christ  has  done  for 


78  Soul  Crises 

your  homes.  Then  what  are  you  going  to  do  with 
"Jesus  which  is  called  Christ"?  Is  He  a  guest  in 
your  home?  Does  He  share  its  joys  and  its  sor- 
rows? Can  you  imagine  a  more  sublime  sight 
than  that  of  every  member  in  the  home  kneeling 
around  the  family  altar,  as  the  father  prays, 
"Behold  me,  and  the  children  whom  Thou  hast 
given  me?"     Is  yours  a  Christian  home? 

Finally  this  is  an  Individual  Question.  "What 
shall  I  do  then  with  Jesus  which  is  called  Christ?" 
What  was  the  cause  of  Pilate's  failure?  Nothing 
more  or  less  than  public  opinion,  the  fear  of  man; 
he  was  afraid  of  the  crowd.  Once  again  Jesus 
stands  in  the  hall  of  judgment,  not  in  Jerusalem, 
but  at  the  bar  of  your  conscience,  and  Pilate's 
question  faces  you.  What  are  you  going  to  do 
with  it?  Did  you  say  you  were  going  to  laugh  it 
off?  Exercise  a  care  lest  you  laugh  and  ignore 
this  question  until  it  is  too  late.  God  has  given 
His  best  to  save  you  from  sin  to  holiness,  and  if 
you  trample  underfoot  the  blood  of  Christ  the  day 
may  come  when  "He  that  sitteth  in  the  heavens 
shall  laugh."  Like  Pilate,  Jesus  is  left  on  your 
hands.  The  question  is  not,  am  I  a  church  mem- 
ber? or  am  I  religious?  the  question  Is  "What 
shall  I  do  with  Jesus?"  It  is  to  be  feared  that 
to  some  religious  people  Christ  will  say,  "Depart 
from  Me,  I  never  knew  you,  ye  workers  of  In- 
iquity." If  your  pleasures  are  of  such  a  nature 
as  to  come  between  you  and  Christ,  what  are  you 
going  to  do  with  Jesus?    Will  you  by  your  actions 


A  Present  Crisis  79 

crucify  Christ  afresh  and  cling  to  your  sinful  pleas- 
ure? It  is  not,  what  language  shall  we  employ 
to  express  our  contempt,  our  utter  loathing  for 
Pilate,  as  he  stands  hesitating  and  endeavouring 
to  shirk  his  responsibility,  and  then  against  his 
better  judgment  falling  miserably  down  and  yield- 
ing to  the  request  of  an  insane  mob.  The  ques- 
tion which  will  be  a  savour  of  life  unto  life  or  of 
death  unto  death  for  you  to  decide  now  is,  "What 
shall  I  do  then  with  Jesus  which  is  called  Christ?'* 


CHAPTER  VI 


AN    URGENT   CALL 


And  as  Jesus  passed  forth  from  thence,  He  saiv  a  man  named 
Mattheiv,  sitting  at  the  receipt  of  custom:  and  He  saith  unto 
him,  "Folloiu  Me."  And  he  arose  and  followed  Him. — Matt. 
IX,  9. 

IN  our  text  we  see  our  Lord  on  His  way  from 
one  preaching  service  to  another.  Before  go- 
ing down  from  Capernaum  to  the  sea-shore,  He 
conducted  a  most  inspiring  service  in  a  house  in 
the  city.  What  made  this  service  so  inspiring? 
As  we  consider  the  outstanding  features  of  a  good 
service,  we  acknowledge  several  answers  might 
be  given  to  this  question.  The  service  might  have 
been  inspiring  because  of  the  Preacher.  It  is  al- 
ways inspiring  to  hear  a  really  great  preacher,  but 
what  must  it  have  been  to  hear  Jesus  preaching 
the  gospel  of  the  kingdom?  The  service  might 
have  been  inspiring  because  it  was  well-attended. 
The  attendance  was  large.  The  place  was  simply 
crowded;  standing  room  was  at  a  premium.  A 
good  congregation  is  always  inspiring  to  a  preach- 
er, and  while  our  Lord's  inspiration  did  not  de- 
pend on  large  congregations,  we  have  reason  to 
believe,  He  was  greatly  encouraged  by  the  pres- 

80 


An  Urgent  Call  8i 

ence  of  so  many  people  desirous  of  hearing  a  mes- 
sage from  God.  The  service  might  have  been 
inspiring  because  It  was  so  representative.  All 
classes  were  represented  from  the  holy  Pharisee 
to  the  despised  Publican;  and  whether  they  be- 
lieved or  rejected  the  message,  they  heard  It. 
They  would,  In  all  probability,  speak  of  It  to  their 
friends,  and  to  have  "an  Hebrew  of  the  Hebrews" 
become  a  disciple  would  be  a  most  Inspiring 
achievement. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  service  was  inspiring 
because  of  an  Incident  which  occurred  when  It 
was  in  progress.  Four  men  came  carrying  a  friend 
on  a  mattress  who  was  sick  of  the  palsy.  They 
sought  admission  by  the  doorway  In  vain.  But 
nothing  daunted  they  ascended  to  the  roof  of  the 
house  by  the  outside  stairs,  made  an  opening  and 
lowered  their  friend  through  just  In  front  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  as  He  was  preaching.  If  you  and  I 
had  been  In  that  congregation  when  those  men 
began  to  break  up  the  roof  we  would  have  been 
greatly  annoyed.  Perhaps  it  did  annoy  some  of 
His  hearers,  but  it  did  not  annoy  Christ.  It  was 
rather  an  alarming  mode  of  procedure,  and  we 
can  see  the  angry  glances  cast  at  these  men,  but 
not  a  word  of  rebuke  from  the  Preacher.  Where 
others  saw  men  disturbing  a  religious  service, 
"Jesus  saw  their  faith."  These  men  were  In  earn- 
est, they  dared  to  do  the  unusual  to  get  to  Christ. 
The  sick  man  was  healed  of  his  infirmity,  his  sins 
were  forgiven  him,  and  what  looked  like  spoiling 


82  Soul  Crises 

the  service  was  the  means  of  making  it  most  in- 
spiring for  "immediately  he  arose,  took  up  his  bed, 
and  went  forth  before  them  all:  Insomuch  that 
they  were  all  amazed  and  glorified  God,  saying, 
'We  never  saw  It  on  this  fashion.'  " 

Turning  from  such  an  Inspiring  service  to  watch 
the  Preacher  go  down  to  the  sea-shore  seems  very 
trivial  Indeed,  but  It  may  be  worth  while.  "And 
as  Jesus  passed  forth  from  thence  He  saw."  To 
me,  it  Is  of  surpassing  interest  to  learn  what  Jesus 
saw,  both  In  and  out  of  His  services.  The  modern 
preacher  on  his  way  from  one  preaching  service  to 
another  would  probably  see  nothing  of  Interest 
except  his  notes,  but  Jesus  used  His  eyes.  To  Him 
the  path  from  one  service  to  another  was  full  oi 
possibilities.  He  was  Interested  in  everything  that 
had  any  bearing  upon  His  work.  He  saw  the  dia- 
mond In  the  rough.  He  saw  promise  and  possi- 
bilities where  others  saw  only  the  degraded  and 
the  outcast.  "And  as  Jesus  passed  forth  from 
thence  He  saw  a  man."  There  is  nothing  very  re- 
markable In  that.  It  would  be  nothing  new  to  see 
a  man  between  Capernaum  and  the  sea-shore. 
When  we  go  down  to  the  sea-shore  we  are  so  self- 
centered  that  men  appear  to  us  as  so  many  things, 
varying  In  Importance  as  they  contribute  to  our 
pleasure  or  comfort.  But  Jesus  was  not  on  a  pleas- 
ure trip.  He  did  not  go  down  to  the  sea-shore  for 
the  good  of  His  health.  He  went  down  to  the  sea- 
shore because  it  was  a  good  place  to  preach,  and 
as  He  went  down  "He  saw  a  man." 


An  Urgent  Call  83 

It  would  be  Interesting  to  know  what  His  pros- 
pective audience  saw.  Like  them  we  probably 
would  have  been  attracted  by  the  amount  of  busi- 
ness being  transacted  at  the  toll-booth,  or  inter- 
ested in  the  foreigners  who  were  paying  their 
dues,  before  passing  along  the  great  commercial 
highway.  We  might  have  remarked  upon  the 
well-filled  money  bags,  or  the  money  stored  up  in 
sight,  but  Jesus  saw  a  man.  He  was  not  inter- 
ested in  the  money  in  the  toll-booth.  He  saw 
something  more  precious  than  all  the  gold  in  the 
Indies,  He  saw  a  man !  We  might  have  been  ex- 
cited by  the  crowd,  but  Jesus  concentrated  His 
gaze  on  a  man.  We  talk  about  the  masses,  of  so- 
ciety, of  the  classes,  and  of  requiring  so  many 
hands  to  run  the  machinery  of  the  world,  but  in 
spite  of  our  distinctions  Jesus  sees  men.  He  looks 
at  the  individuals.  He  sees  a  man  in  a  crowd. 
He  knows  His  man  when  He  sees  him,  and  in 
spite  of  adverse  appearances  He  never  makes  a 
mistake.  If  we  had  been  with  Jesus  as  He  went 
from  the  city  down  to  the  sea-shore  and  He  had 
said  to  us,  "I  am  looking  for  a  man  who  will  write 
the  first  gospel,"  wc  would  have  said,  "Lord!  We 
don't  doubt  your  genius,  but,  in  our  opinion,  you. 
need  not  look  there.  The  Publicans  have  a  hard 
name,  and  generally  speaking,  they  have  a  bad 
reputation.  No !  Lord,  the  toll-booth  is  not  the 
place  to  look."  Yes !  We  could  have  given  sev- 
eral arguments  against  the  probability  of  finding  a 
suitable  person  there.    But  Jesus  looked  and  "saw 


84  Soul  Crises 

a  man  named  Matthew,  sitting  at  the  receipt  of 
custom,  and  He  saith  unto  him,  'Follow  Me.'  And 
he  arose  and  followed  Him."  That  man  wrote 
the  gospel  which  bears  his  name. 

Let  us  take  a  look  at  the  circumstances  under 
which  Jesus  found  him.  He  was  sitting  at  the  re- 
ceipt of  custom.  "Along  the  north  end  of  the 
sea  of  Galilee  there  was  a  road  leading  from  Da- 
mascus to  Acre  on  the  Mediterranean,  and  on  that 
road  a  customs-office  marked  the  boundary  be- 
tween the  territories  of  Philip,  the  tetrarch,  and 
Herod  Antipas.  Matthew's  occupation  was  the 
examination  of  goods  which  passed  along  the 
road,  and  the  levying  of  the  toll.  A  Jew  serving 
on  a  great  highway  was  prevented  from  fulfilling 
requirements  of  the  Law,  and  was  compelled  to 
violate  the  Sabbath  law,  which  the  Gentiles,  who 
conveyed  their  goods,  did  not  observe."  ^  Jesus 
found  Matthew  at  his  work.  We  are  very  apt  to 
imagine  that  Jesus  can  only  find  men  in  church, 
such,  however,  is  not  the  case.  He  can  find  men 
wherever  men  are  to  be  found.  To-day,  as  in  the 
days  of  His  flesh,  our  Lord  visits  our  places  of 
business  as  truly  as  He  visits  the  church.  Does 
such  a  thought  ever  cross  your  mental  horizon, 
that  Jesus  visits  you  as  you  work?  He  comes  to 
us  as  we  buy  and  sell  and  endeavour  to  get  gain. 
He  comes  when  we  least  expect  Him  and  asks  us 
if  we  are  content  not  merely  with  our  wages,  but 
with  the  kind  of  work  we  are  turning  out.    When 

*  Dictionary  of  Christ  and  the  Gospels. 


An  Urgent  Call  85 

we  are  tempted  to  countenance  a  dishonest  trans- 
action, He  comes  and  suggests  that  we  are  get- 
ting the  worst  of  the  bargain,  for  he  who  lives  by- 
fraud  shall  perish  by  the  same.  In  His  presence 
we  feel  we  cannot  be  anything  but  honourable. 
He  comes  to  us  when  we  grow  impatient  of  ad- 
verse conditions,  He  reminds  us  that  our  bread 
and  water  is  assured,  and  intimates  that  we  are 
not  merely  engaged  in  making  a  living,  but  under- 
going discipline  to  develop  a  life.  Whether  we 
recognize  Him  or  not,  we  enter  upon  another 
day's  work  with  a  light  heart,  and  our  labour  be- 
comes a  means  of  grace. 

Matthew  was  so  engrossed  in  business  that  he 
did  not  observe  the  Sabbath  law.  He  had  to  work 
seven  days  In  the  week  and  apparently  had  no 
opportunity  of  hearing  the  mighty  Prophet  about 
whom  everybody  was  talking.  How  graciously 
our  Lord  accommodates  Himself  to  our  circum- 
stances. If  Matthew  cannot  find  time  to  go  to 
hear  Jesus,  Jesus  will  go  to  visit  Matthew.  If 
you  cannot  come  to  church  to  worship  Him,  in 
the  fellowship  of  His  people,  He  will  come  home 
to  you,  and  you  may  recognize  Him  in  the  break- 
ing of  the  bread,  in  the  opening  of  the  sacred  page, 
and  in  causing  your  heart  to  burn  with  you  as  He 
begins  at  Moses  and  expounds  to  you  the  Scrip- 
tures. He  sends  His  servants  into  your  homes 
with  this  promise  to  encourage  them,  "He  that 
receiveth  you  receiveth  Me,  and  he  that  receiveth 
Me  receiveth  Him  that  sent  Me."     Adverse  cir- 


86  Soul  Crises 

cumstances  are  no  barrier  to  Christ.  He  sees  us 
under  all  conditions.  We  may  receive  a  surprise 
visit  from  our  Lord,  and  when  He  comes  let  us 
ask  Him  to  enter  into  partnership  with  us. 

Having  seen  where  Matthew  was,  and  what  he 
was  doing,  let  us  endeavour  to  see  what  kind  of 
a  man  he  was.  He  was  a  publican  and  whatever 
virtues  he  might  possess  he  would  not  get  much 
credit  for  them  because  a  publican  and  a  sinner 
were  synonymous  terms.  "In  Galilee  the  publi- 
cans had  to  collect,  not  for  the  imperial  treasury 
(as  in  Judea),  but  for  Herod  Antipas,  the 
tetrarch.  But  whether  in  the  service  of  the  hated 
Roman  Emperor  or  of  Herod  Antipas,  who  was 
in  complete  subservience  to  him,  the  tax-gatherer 
was  most  unpopular  with  the  Jews;  for,  apart 
from  the  obvious  liability  of  the  method  to  abuse, 
the  mere  fact  of  the  money  being  thus  raised  for 
an  alien  power  was  detestable  in  their  eyes.  And 
no  doubt  the  publicans  were  often  drawn  from  the 
lowest  ranks  in  consequence."  ^  Matthew  was  the 
son  of  Alpheus.  Who  Alpheus  was,  or  to  what 
station  in  life  he  belonged  we  cannot  determine, 
for  we  know  nothing  about  him  with  the  exception 
of  his  name.  However,  the  fact  is  well  estab- 
lished, that  Matthew  was  a  publican;  for  he  desig- 
nates himself  thus  in  giving  the  list  of  the  disciples. 
Although  he  wrote  the  gospel  from  the  Jewish 
standpoint,  and  set  forth  the  majesty  of  King 
Jesus,  he  is  silent  about  himself  with  the  excep- 

^  Dictionary  of  Christ  and  the  Gospels. 


An  Urgent  Call  87 

tion  of  acknowledging  that  he  was  a  pubhcan. 

Evidently  he  was  not  renowned  as  a  teacher 
or  preacher,  for  he  is  never  mentioned  in  the 
Acts  of  the  Apostles  as  going  on  a  preaching  tour, 
or  even  of  taking  a  public  part  in  the  Christian 
campaign.  Although  not  gifted  as  a  speaker,  he 
excelled  as  a  writer,  and  he  has  left  a  worthy- 
memorial  In  the  gospel  which  bears  his  name. 
Every  man  after  his  own  order.  When  Jesus  went 
in  search  of  Matthew,  He  knew  the  kind  of  man 
he  wanted.  And  although  nobody  would  have 
been  more  surprised  than  he,  on  the  day  when 
Jesus  saw  him  at  his  work,  if  It  had  been  sug- 
gested that  he  would  live  to  write  a  gospel,  yet 
he  did  it  and  he  did  it  well.  In  thinking  of  a  tax- 
gatherer's  becoming  one  of  the  literary  artists  of 
the  world,  we  are  forcibly  reminded  of  what 
Christ  can  do  for  any  man  who  responds  to  His 
call.  Any  man  who  yields  himself  unreservedly 
to  Jesus  Christ  will  not  only  become  a  revelation 
to  the  world,  but  a  revelation  to  himself.  There 
Is  a  beautiful  humility  in  Matthew's  designation 
of  himself  as  a  publican.  Humility  Is  always  be- 
coming. Isaiah  exhorts  us  to  remember  the  rock 
from  whence  we  were  hewn,  and  the  hole  of  the 
pit  from  whence  we  were  digged.  Can  we  not 
say  with  the  Psalmist,  "I  waited  patiently  for  the 
Lord;  and  He  Inclined  unto  me,  and  heard  my 
cry.  He  brought  me  up  also  out  of  an  horrible 
pit,  out  of  the  miry  clay,  and  set  my  feet  upon 
a  rock,  and  established  my  goings.     And  he  hath 


88  Soul  Crises 

put  a  new  song  in  my  mouth,  even  praise  unto  our 
God." 

If  the  Pharisees  had  been  asked  for  Matthew's 
character  they  would  have  given  It  without  hesi- 
tation. He  was  a  publican,  and  no  one  but  a  repro- 
bate would  be  engaged  In  a  business  like  that, 
He  was  a  Sabbath-breaker  and  consequently  ostra- 
cised from  all  decent  society.  Yet  strange  to  say 
when  Jesus  was  looking  for  one  who  would  write 
the  story  of  His  earthly  pilgrimage,  He  chose  not 
a  Pharisee  but  a  publican. 

Not  many  wise,  not  many  mighty  are  called  for 
the  simple  reason  that  the  mighty  and  the  wise 
are  satisfied  with  themselves.  They  glory  In  their 
wisdom  or  they  glory  In  their  might.  And  noth- 
ing Is  so  fatal  to  progress  as  satisfaction  with 
one's  self,  whether  It  be  with  one's  character  or 
achievements.  Jesus  sees  not  merely  what  we  are 
but  what  we  may  become.  He  discovers  the  slum- 
bering giant  and  awakens  him  to  action.  He 
comes  to  publicans  and  sinners,  to  those  who  are 
conscious  of  their  need  of  Him  and  says,  "Pub- 
lican, I  want  thee  to  become  a  prophet;  Sinner, 
I  want  thee  to  become  a  saint." 

The  call  of  Matthew  was  very  dramatic.  It 
is  a  thrilling  moment  in  the  history  of  the  soul 
when  it  responds  to  the  call  of  the  Master.  "And 
as  Jesus  passed  forth  from  thence,  He  saw  a  man, 
named  Matthew  sitting  at  the  receipt  of  custom; 
and  He  saith  unto  him,  'Follow  Me.'  And  he 
arose  and  followed  Him."     This  call  was  ad- 


An  Urgent  Call  89 

dressed  to  a  busy  man.  That  was  the  kind  of 
man  He  was  looking  for.  Jesus  never  calls  a 
loafer.  For  that  type  of  an  individual,  He  has 
no  use  whatever.  He  was  a  tremendous  worker 
Himself,  He  made  every  minute  count.  On  one 
occasion,  when  His  disciples  prayed  Him  to  eat 
bread,  He  said,  "My  meat  is  to  do  the  will  of 
Him  that  sent  Me,  and  to  finish  His  work."  The 
King's  business  required  haste,  and  to  extend  the 
boundaries  of  His  Empire.  He  wanted  men  of 
enterprise  and  enthusiasm.  The  watchword  of 
His  Kingdom  is,  "Work  while  it  is  day;  for  the 
night  Cometh  when  no  man  can  work." 

No  one  has  a  keener  eye  for  a  business  man 
than  Jesus.  At  a  glance  He  can  tell  the  mental 
and  moral  calibre  of  the  man.  One  look,  and  He 
knows  whether  a  man  is  occupying  a  position 
worthy  of  his  talents.  No  leader  in  any  sphere 
of  labour  has  such  a  faculty  for  discovering  men 
as  Jesus  Christ. 

Our  Lord  is  vitally  interested  in  the  working 
man.  He  is  the  Friend  of  all  but  especially  of 
the  burdened  and  the  oppressed.  He  has  cham- 
pioned the  cause  of  the  working  man;  and  to 
every  working  man  He  comes  to-day  saying, 
"Follow  Me!"  Will  you,  like  Matthew,  respond? 
Do  you  plead  that  you  cannot  serve  God  in  your 
business?  Then,  like  Matthew,  leave  it,  and  the 
sooner  the  better.  Do  you  plead  lack  of  time  to 
attend  to  religion  apart  from  business  hours? 
Then  serve  God  in  your  business,  and  your  whole 


90  Soul  Crises 

life  will  be  transformed  Into  one  grand  act  of 
worship.  The  call  of  Christ  is  from  sin  to  holi- 
ness, from  death  to  life,  from  the  power  of  Satan 
unto  God.  This  call  came  not  only  to  a  busy  man, 
but  to  a  capable  man. 

Jesus  has  a  purpose  In  every  call  and  a  place 
for  every  life.  He  Imparts  His  Spirit  unto  His 
followers  and  they  become  new  creatures.  Old 
things  pass  away  and  all  become  new.  He  speaks 
to  a  young  rake,  saying,  "Follow  Me  and  I  will 
make  thee  St.  Augustine,  one  of  the  greatest  of 
the  Church  Fathers."  He  speaks  to  a  drunken, 
blaspheming  tinker,  saying,  "Follow  Me,  and  I 
will  make  thee  John  Bunyan,  the  immortal 
dreamer."  He  speaks  to  an  obscure  cobbler,  say- 
ing, "Follow  Me,  and  I  will  make  thee,  William 
Carey,  the  apostle  of  modern  missions."  He 
speaks  to  you,  to-day,  saying,  "Follow  Me,  and 
I  will  show  thee  what  great  things  thou  must  do 
for  My  name's  sake." 

How  many  of  the  publican  class  Christ  has 
called!  And  what  a  noble  army  has  responded. 
Will  you  respond?  Jesus  calls  you.  Shall  He 
call  in  vain?  Will  It  be  put  on  record  against 
you,  "I  have  called  and  ye  have  refused?"  Are 
you  going  to  say  to  your  Lord  what  Felix  said 
to  Paul,  "Go  thy  way  for  this  fime,  when  I  have 
a  more  convenient  season  I  will  call  for  thee?" 
That  convenient  season  never  came.  Matthew 
responded  Immediately  and  cheerfully.  "And  he 
arose  and  followed  Him."     Without  any  reluc- 


An  Urgent  Call  91 

tance,  without  any  misgivings,  he  arose  and  fol- 
lowed Jesus  in  the  way.  Will  any  one  dare 
to  charge  Matthew  with  indiscretion?  Had 
Matthew  declined  the  call,  he  would  have  lived 
like  an  ordinary  publican  and  died  unknown.  But 
he  obeyed!  Conseguently  his  name  will  never 
die.  His  Christian  work  is  his  perpetual  memo- 
rial. Who  then  is  willing,  like  Matthew,  to  fol- 
low Jesus  all  the  way? 

You  ask  if  I  am  aware  of  the  tremendous  de- 
mand I  am  making;  of  what  it  means  to  follow 
Jesus  all  the  way?  Your  thought  is  the  price  you 
will  have  to  pay  by  becoming  a  Christian.  It  is 
a  good  thing  to  count  the  cost.  You  say,  It  meant 
little  or  nothing  then  to  follow  Christ,  but  con- 
sider what  it  will  mean  to-day!  Think  you  it 
meant  little  or  nothing  to  Matthew?  It  meant 
everything  to  him.  It  is  highly  probable  that  it 
meant  more  to  him  than  it  will  mean  to  us.  It 
cost  him  something  to  give  up  his  position,  for 
no  man  was  in  that  business  simply  for  the  love 
of  It.  The  man  who  wanted  to  make  money 
quickly  became  a  publican.  What  had  induced 
Matthew  to  become  a  publican  we  know  not,  but 
this  we  do  know,  at  the  call  of  Christ  he  left  all 
and  became  an  ardent  disciple.  You  are  thinking 
of  what  it  will  cost  to  make  the  effort.  Think 
deliberately  what  It  will  cost  If  you  refuse  the  call. 
Some  calls  we  cannot  afford  to  Ignore,  and  above 
all  we  cannot  afford  to  Ignore  Christ's. 

Matthew  was  proud  of  the  call.     And  to  cele- 


92  Soul  Crises 

brate  this  new  departure  in  his  life  he  made  a 
feast  in  his  own  house,  and  invited  a  great  mul- 
titude of  publicans  and  others  to  meet  his  newly 
found  Master  and  Lord.  Matthew  did  not  steal 
into  the  kingdom  as  though  he  were  ashamed  of 
such  a  proceeding.  He  was  honoured  by  such  a 
call  and  by  a  public  reception  in  honor  of  the 
Master,  and  by  his  subsequent  loyalty  and  devo- 
tion he  endeavoured  to  prove  himself  worthy  of 
that  august  occasion  when  the  Son  of  God  came 
to  him,  a  sinful  publican,  and  said,  "Follow  Me." 
History  has  proved  that  Jesus  made  no  mistake 
in  His  man.  He  sought  and  found,  not  a 
preacher  but  a  church  historian. 

Jesus  is  calling  you.  He  has  something  for 
you  to  do.  Let  your  response  be  as  prompt  and 
as  hearty  as  that  of  Matthew. 


CHAPTER  VII 

THE   POSSIBILITIES  OF  THE  AVERAGE  MAN 

And  he  said  unto  him,  What  is  thy  name?  And  he  said,  Jacob. 
And  he  said.  Thy  name  shall  be  called  no  more  Jacob,  but 
Israel:  for  as  a  prince  hast  thou  poiver  ivith  God  and  vjith  men, 
and  hast  prevailed. — Gen.  XXXII,  27-28. 

J  SUPPOSE  there  is  a  tragedy  in  every  life. 
At  least,  there  is  a  tragedy  in  the  life  of 
every  man  who  wanders  away  from  God,  and  a 
double  tragedy  in  the  life  of  the  man  who  never 
comes  back.  The  experience  I  wish  to  portray 
is  that  of  the  man  who  has  gone  into  the  far  coun- 
try of  sin,  who  has  tasted  its  dead  sea  fruit,  and 
who  is  resolved  to  return  to  his  father's  house. 

That  it  is  not  always  an  easy  matter  to  return 
is  illustrated  by  the  experience  of  Jacob.  Jacob 
was  born  under  the  most  favourable  conditions. 
He  was  a  son  of  pious  parents,  and  doubtless  the 
subject  of  many  prayers.  His  father  was  a  pa- 
triarch; and  a  divine  messenger  had  said,  respect- 
ing him  and  his  brother,  "the  elder  shall  serve  the 
younger."  From  the  first  there  was  a  marked 
contrast  between  these  twins.  "And  the  boys 
grew;  and  Esau  was  a  cunning  hunter,  a  man  of 
the  field;  and  Jacob  was  a  plain  man  dwelling 

93 


94  Soul  Crises 

in  tents."  Jacob  impresses  us  favourably,  and 
even  he  was  not  a  "born  saint."  Strenuous  ef- 
forts have  been  put  forth  to  prove  his  inherent 
goodness,  but  argument  has  had  to  rest  on  very 
slender  evidence.  Let  us  endeavour  to  see  what 
he  was  by  nature,  also  what  he  became  by  the 
power  of  divine  grace.  Jacob  was  no  better  and 
perhaps  no  worse  than  the  rest  of  us.  He  is  a 
fair  specimen  of  the  ordinary  man. 

His  life  was  profoundly  influenced  by  two  men 
who  did  not  have  a  beneficial  effect  upon  him. 
These  two  men  were  Esau  and  Laban.  They 
represent  the  two  extremes  in  wickedness.  Esau 
was  a  splendid  animal.  We  admire  him  and  we 
pity  him,  but  we  imitate  him  at  our  peril.  He 
was  a  man  who  must  have  pleasure  regardless  of 
the  price.  Laban  was  an  unscrupulous  hypocrite. 
Esau  was  such  an  easy  mark  that  Jacob  was 
tempted  to  overreach  him,  while  Laban  was  so 
far-seeing  as  to  make  capital  out  of  Jacob.  These 
two  men  are  types  of  those  who  can  always  be 
found  in  the  far  country  of  sin,  and  strange  as 
it  may  seem,  they  do  not  live  together,  but  dwell 
near  the  opposite  borders.  Esau  occasionally  can 
take  a  wild  excursion  inland,  but  his  home  is  near 
the  border.  He  can  be  very  religious  at  times. 
His  sins  are  largely  the  results  of  neglect  and 
indifference.  Laban  was  much  farther  inland. 
He  dwelt  near  the  opposite  border, — just  a  little 
removed  from  perdition.  He  had  use  for  reli- 
gion only  in  so  far  as  it  paid.     His  was  the  sin 


The  Possibilities  of  the  Average  Man      95 

of  covetousness  and  duplicity.  He  deliberately 
planned  injustice  and  was  prepared  to  grow  fat 
by  oppression. 

The  sad  experience  of  Jacob  bids  us  beware  of 
sin  in  its  initial  stages,  of  trying  to  gain  the  right 
by  wrong  means.  ''The  wages  of  sin  is  death." 
This  is  a  dread  fact  we  are  apt  to  overlook.  At 
first  sin  allures  and  captivates.  The  more  we 
meditate  upon  it,  the  more  attractive  it  appears; 
until  we  are  convinced  that  it  would  be  folly  not 
to  avail  ourselves  of  what  seems  to  be  a  providen- 
tial opportunity.  It  was  thus  with  Jacob.  He 
had  been  told  by  his  devoted  mother  that  he  was 
to  succeed  his  father.  Esau,  his  brother,  was  of 
such  a  reckless  disposition  that  he  did  not  appre- 
ciate such  an  honour,  and  was  clearly  unfit  to  be 
entrusted  with  it.  The  more  Jacob  thought  of 
the  birthright  the  more  determined  was  he  to  get 
it.  One  day  while  at  his  tent  preparing  a  mess 
of  red  lentils,  a  favourable  opportunity  presented 
itself.  Esau,  who  had  been  out  on  an  unsuccess- 
ful hunting  expedition,  approached  the  tent  in  a 
famishing  condition.  As  soon  as  he  espied  the 
mess  of  pottage  he  cried,  "feed  me  I  pray  thee 
with  that  red."  "And  Jacob  said,  'Sell  me  this 
day  thy  birthright,'  .  .  .  and  he  sold  his  birth- 
right unto  Jacob."  Sin  presented  itself  to  Jacob 
in  the  light  of  an  advantage.  It  was  an  oppor- 
tune time  for  driving  a  shrewd  bargain,  but  in 
reality  it  was  taking  a  mean  advantage.  He  had 
wronged  his  brother  and  he  knew  it.     Conscience 


g6  Soul  Crises 

rose  in  rebellion  and  charged  him  with  over- 
reaching, but  he  lulled  it  to  sleep.  At  the  outset 
sin  always  appears  to  be  a  decided  advantage.  A 
favourable  opportunity  presents  itself  for  selfish 
gratification  and  indulgence.  Nobody  will  know. 
Then  why  should  I  not  embrace  this  oppor- 
tunity? A  mean  advantage  is  taken  of  another's 
weakness,  of  another's  ignorance,  or  of  another's 
love,  and  the  outraged  monitor  within  proclaims 
the  awful  fact  that  God  knows,  that  an  indelible 
record  has  been  made  of  the  deed,  and  in  a  voice 
that  refuses  to  be  silenced  it  says,  "Thou  hast 
wronged  thy  brother,  thou  hast  wronged  thy 
sister,  thou  hast  wronged  thy  home,  thou  hast 
wronged  thy  body,  thou  hast  wronged  thy  soul." 
One  sin  prepares  the  way  for  another.  The 
sin  of  meanness  prepares  the  way  for  falsehood 
and  hypocrisy.  The  propagating  power  of  sin 
is  seen  in  the  stealing  of  the  blessing.  Isaac  had 
been  told  that  the  elder  son  should  serve  the 
younger,  yet  he  determines  to  bless  Esau.  So 
about  forty  years  before  his  decease  he  imagined 
he  was  at  the  point  of  death,  and  calling  Esau 
he  instructed  him  to  go  to  the  field,  to  bring 
venison,  and  to  make  savoury  meat  such  as  he 
loved  that  his  soul  might  bless  him  before  he 
died.  Rebekah  overheard  what  passed  between 
Isaac  and  Esau,  and  evidently  thinking  that  God's 
purpose  would  not  be  fulfilled,  she  determined  to 
interfere  on  Jacob's  behalf.  Jacob  loved  his 
mother,  and  she  led  him  into  a  snare.     But  he 


The  Possibilities  of  the  Average  Man      97 

knew  he  was  doing  wrong,  and  when  he  went  into 
his  blind  father's  presence  he  intended  saying  as 
httle  as  possible.  Having  gone  so  far,  he  found 
it  easier  to  go  farther.  One  falsehood  was 
needed  to  hide  another;  and  when  he  left  his 
father's  presence  he  was  a  deliberate  liar. 

There  was  a  good  deal  of  selfishness  in  both 
parents.  It  is  on  record  that  "Isaac  loved  Esau 
because  he  partook  of  his  venison."  There  are 
a  great  many  of  this  kind  of  lovers  in  the  world 
to-day,  people  who  love  you  for  what  they  can 
get  out  of  you.  If  those  with  whom  you  associate 
do  not  love  you  for  what  you  are,  keep  your  eyes 
open.  A  young  man  with  a  well-filled  purse  al- 
ways can  find  companions  to  sing,  "He's  a  jolly 
good  fellow,"  while  they  are  drinking  at  his  ex- 
pense, but  when  his  cash  is  gone,  they  suddenly 
remember  an  important  duty  they  must  perform 
without  delay,  and  they  leave  the  poor,  deluded 
mortal  friendless  and  forsaken.  Selfishness,  cruel 
and  heartless,  is  the  way  of  the  world. 

Jacob's  parents  were  guilty  of  partiality.  "Isaac 
loved  Esau,  because  he  did  eat  of  his  venison;  but 
Rebekah  loved  Jacob."  Rebekah,  by  interfering 
with  the  purpose  of  God,  succeeded  in  undoing 
the  very  end  she  sought  to  achieve.  Esau  had 
disappointed  his  parents  in  his  marriage,  and  so 
Rebekah  tried  by  every  possible  means,  as  she 
thought,  to  keep  Jacob  at  home.  So  she  assisted 
him  to  deceive  his  father,  but  she  was  the  one 
to  be  the  most  cruelly  deceived.     That  piece  of 


98  Soul  Crises 

dishonest  work  quickly  bore  fruit.  Jacob  had  to 
fly  before  the  fury  of  his  enraged  brother.  His 
mother  told  him  to  flee  to  Haran  and  tarry  a 
few  days  until  his  brother's  fury  had  turned 
away.  Jacob  departed  and  his  mother  never  saw 
him  again. 

Try  as  we  may,  we  can  hardly  enter  into 
Jacob's  feelings  as  he  stepped  out  from  home. 
It  is  hard  to  leave  with  the  good  wishes  of  all 
behind,  but  when  you  have  to  bid  farewell  to 
all  that  memory  holds  dear  because  of  your  own 
deliberate  sin,  it  is  harder  still.  Turning  away 
from  the  home  of  his  childhood,  the  home  of  his 
youth  and  young  manhood,  Jacob  knew  that  his 
own  sin  had  closed  the  door  behind  him.  His 
mind  doubtless  would  be  filled  with  the  thoughts 
of  sadness  mingled  with  remorse.  Oh,  the 
tragedy  of  it!  Driven  from  home  by  one's  own 
evil  deeds!  Young  people  honour  your  homes! 
If  you  have  to  leave  home  in  disgrace,  you  will 
find  this  to  be  a  cold,  cruel  world,  to  say  nothing 
of  the  broken  hearts  left  behind.  Let  this  truth 
burn  into  your  soul.  "The  way  of  transgressors 
is  hard." 

Amid  conflicting  thoughts,  Jacob  walks  on  till 
eventide,  and  with  a  strange  sense  of  loneliness  he 
settles  down  for  the  night.  That  was  a  memor- 
able night.  As  he  slept  he  dreamed,  "and  behold 
a  ladder  set  up  on  the  earth,  and  the  top  of  it 
reached  to  heaven :  and  behold  the  angels  of  God 
ascending  and  descending  on  it.     And,   behold! 


The  Possibilities  of  the  Average  Man      99 

the  Lord  stood  above  it  and  said,  'I  am  the  Lord 
God  of  Abraham  thy  father,  and  the  God  of 
Isaac:  the  land  whereon  thou  liest,  to  thee  will 
I  give  it,  and  to  thy  seed;  and  thy  seed  shall  be 
as  the  dust  of  the  earth;  .  .  .  and  in  thee  and 
in  thy  seed  shall  all  the  families  of  the  earth  be 
blessed.'  "  After  receiving  many  exceedingly  great 
and  precious  promises  Jacob  awoke  and  said, 
"  'Surely  the  Lord  is  in  this  place;  and  I  knew  it 
not.'  And  he  was  afraid,  and  said,  'How  dread- 
ful is  this  place !  this  is  none  other  but  the  house 
of  God,  and  this  is  the  gate  of  heaven.*  " 

Jacob  was  running  away  from  home,  but  he 
could  not  get  beyond  the  jurisdiction  of  God. 
Some  of  you  are  trying  to  run  away  from  good 
influences,  and  some  of  you  may  be  riding  at 
a  stretch-gallop  into  vice,  but  remember,  there 
is  a  God  above,  and  you  cannot  escape  from  Him. 
If  we  had  a  true  conception  of  God's  greatness, 
I  believe  we  would  be  overawed.  David  sinned 
and  when  his  iniquity  bore  fruit,  and  trouble  came 
in  like  a  flood  he  cried,  "Oh  that  I  had  wings 
like  a  dove !  for  then  would  I  fly  away  and  be 
at  rest."  But  he  bethought  himself  and  said, 
"If  I  take  the  wings  of  the  morning,  and  dwell 
in  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  sea;  even  there  shall 
thy  hand  lead  me,  and  thy  right  hand  shall  hold 
me." 

The  Lord  told  Jacob  that  He  would  be  with 
him,  would  bless  him,  and  make  him  a  blessing; 
yet  such  was  his  vision  of  God's  resources  that 


100  Soul  Crises 

he  immediately  said,  "Give  me  enough  to  eat 
and  to  wear  and  if  thou  art  able  to  do  this  thou 
shalt  be  my  God."  This  goes  to  prove  how  near 
we  may  come  to  God  without  being  made  wise 
unto  salvation.  He  with  a  tenderness  surpassing 
human  thought  is  constantly  speaking  unto  the 
children  of  men,  and  giving  them  the  promise  of 
the  life  that  now  is,  and  of  that  which  is  to  come, 
but  their  thoughts  are  so  crammed  with  worldli- 
ness,  they  will  not  take  time  to  consider  their 
royal  inheritance  in  Christ  Jesus.  Yes!  It  is 
possible  to  attend  divine  worship,  and  remain 
a  stranger  to  the  God  of  all  grace. 

Jacob  continued  his  journey  down  to  Haran, 
and  there  took  up  his  abode.  He  seems  to  have 
become  somewhat  of  an  adept  in  making  bar- 
gains, but  Laban  was  more  than  a  match  for  him. 
Shortly  after  his  arrival  he  bargained  for  a  wife, 
Rachel  whom  he  loved,  and  Laban  made  him 
work  fourteen  years  for  seven  years'  wages.  He 
was  deceived  repeatedly.  His  wages  were 
changed  ten  times,  but  these  deceptions  were  only 
the  beginning  of  his  sorrows.  Here  he  began 
to  reap  the  wild  oats  he  had  sown.  He  reaped 
for  many  years  and  a  bitter  harvest  it  was.  If 
crafty  at  home,  he  is  by  no  means  reformed  down 
in  Haran.  He  waxes  worse  and  worse,  and 
stoops  to  practise   deception  whenever  possible. 

Reforms  are  seldom  the  result  of  running  away 
from  home.  If  you  wish  to  live  an  upright  life 
don't  run  away  from  home,  run  away  from  your 


The  Possibilities  of  the  Average  Man    loi 

sins,  run  to  "the  Lamb  of  God  which  taketh  away 
the  sin  of  the  world." 

Eventually  Jacob  hears  the  call  of  God.  "I 
am  the  God  of  Bethel,  arise."  God  had  not  for- 
gotten Jacob,  nor  His  promise  to  him,  although 
Jacob  evidently  had  forgotten  God.  How  pa- 
tiently and  persistently  God  follows  us  with  His 
offers  of  mercy.  He  comes  to  you  to-night  as  He 
came  to  Jacob  of  old,  saying,  "I  am  the  God  of 
thy  youth,  arise.  Thou  hast  been  down  here  in 
the  Haran  of  sin  too  long.  Shake  off  thy  filthy 
garments,  and  accept  the  robe  of  my  righteous- 
ness which  fadeth  not  away."  I  beseech  you  to 
give  heed  to  the  voice  of  God.  There  is  some- 
thing noble  and  majestic  in  you  which  cannot  find 
rest  in  the  foreign  land  of  sin. 

Jacob  was  a  fugitive,  exiled  from  home,  de- 
ceiving and  being  deceived,  yet  his  life  was  pre- 
served. Esau  and  Laban  schemed  but  they  could 
not  touch  him.  God  had  set  his  hand  upon  Jacob 
for  good.  Although  you  have  been  unfaithful 
to  the  highest  within  you,  and  wandered  far  from 
the  path  of  rectitude,  do  you  not  marvel  at  the 
providence  of  God  in  sparing  you?  God  has 
watched  over  you  with  incessant  care,  when  you 
cared  little  or  nothing  for  yourselves,  and  unless 
you  deliberately  refuse,  there  is  a  sphere  in  which 
you  are  going  to  be  made  eminently  useful.  You 
may  yet  become  mighty  men  of  God. 

Jacob  stole  away  from  Laban  like  a  thief. 
True  to  his  character,  it  was  beyond  his  power 


I02  Soul  Crises 

to  change.  Jacob  was  a  deceiver  by  nature.  If 
he  had  not  met  God  at  Bethel,  he  doubtless  would 
have  become  one  of  the  cleverest  scoundrels  of 
his  time.  God  only  knows  where  we  might  have 
been,  had  we  not  been  restrained  by  the  influence 
of  good  people  around  us.  But  a  time  comes 
when  devices  fail  and  clever  forgeries  are  laid 
bare,  and  all  the  concoctions  of  a  lifetime  pass 
before  the  vision  with  failure  and  defeat  written 
over  every  one.  The  crisis  in  Jacob's  life  has 
arrived.  All  his  schemes  avail  nothing;  and  the 
marvel  in  this  time  of  tragedy  is  that  he  de- 
termines to  meet  God  at  Bethel.  Men  are  able 
to  sail  down  the  smooth  stream  of  time  farther 
and  farther  away  from  God;  but  there  is  one 
storm  in  the  life  of  all  in  which  they  are  saved 
or  lost. 

While  prosecuting  his  journey  to  Canaan, 
Jacob  sent  messengers  to  tell  Esau  of  his  ap- 
proach, and  if  possible  to  find  grace  in  his  sight. 
The  messengers  returned  saying,  "We  came  to 
thy  brother  Esau,  and  also  he  cometh  to  meet 
thee,  and  four  hundred  men  with  him."  Then 
Jacob  was  greatly  afraid  and  distressed.  Things 
are  looking  serious  for  poor,  penitent  Jacob.  He 
is  in  a  terrible  plight.  What  can  he  do?  To 
fight  he  is  unprepared.  To  retreat  is  impossible. 
Then  what  can  he  do?  He  must  act  quickly  for 
Esau  is  coming  and  four  hundred  men  with  him. 
In  this  perilous  hour  he  remembers  the  promises 
of  the  God  of  his  father;  and  for  the  first  time 


The  Possibilities  of  the  Average  Man    103 

in  his  life  he  prays. 

Do  you  remember  the  first  time  you  really  and 
consciously  prayed?  "And  Jacob  said  'O  God!'  " 
If  we  pray  when  in  trouble  there  is  no  doubt 
about  our  sincerity.  After  prayer,  Jacob  took 
a  number  of  his  cattle,  divided  them  into  droves, 
and  sent  them  by  the  hands  of  his  servants  as  a 
present  to  Esau.  Then  he  sent  all  that  remained 
across  the  brook  Jabbok,  "and  Jacob  was  left 
alone." 

Before  Jacob  will  be  fit  to  enter  and  possess 
the  promised  land  his  nature  must  be  changed. 
As  Jacob,  the  supplanter,  he  cannot  enter  the  land 
of  promise.  "And  there  wrestled  a  man  with 
him  until  the  breaking  of  the  day.  And  when  he 
saw  that  he  prevailed  not  against  him,  he  touched 
the  hollow  of  his  thigh;  and  the  hollow  of  Jacob's 
thigh  was  out  of  joint  as  he  wrestled  with  him. 
And  he  said,  'Let  me  go,  for  the  day  breaketh.' 
And  he  said,  'I  will  not  let  thee  go,  except  thou 
bless  me.'  And  he  said  unto  him,  'What  is  thy 
name?'  And  he  said  'Jacob.'  "  My  name  is  sup- 
planter.  In  this  reply  there  was  a  humble  con- 
fession of  his  subtle  scheming  nature.  I  have 
been  an  overreacher,  a  deceiver,  my  life  has  been 
an  acted  lie.  I  confess  and  deplore  the  fact  that 
by  name  and  nature  I  am  a  supplanter.  To  his 
open  confession  the  divine  wrestler  replied,  "Thy 
name  shall  be  called  no  more  Jacob,  but  Israel: 
for  as  a  prince  hast  thou  power  with  God  and 
with  men,  and  hast  prevailed." 


I04  Soul  Crises 

The  sorrows  of  the  night  are  passed,  Jacob 
emerged  from  that  Inevitable  struggle  a  con- 
querer.  He  is  Jacob  the  defrauder  no  more,  for 
old  things  have  passed  away,  and  all  have  become 
new.  He  is  henceforth  to  be  known  as  Israel,  a 
prince  who  has  power  with  God  and  prevails. 

Many  men  have  a  stained  past,  but  if  they  are 
now  turning  the  world  upside-down  by  their 
prayers,  it  is  conclusive  evidence  that  they  have 
been  abundantly  pardoned  and  turned  from  the 
power  of  Satan  to  God.  The  demand  of  these 
critical  times  is  for  men  who  can  pray.  Praying 
men  are  the  salt  of  the  earth,  the  light  of  the 
world.  Wilberforce  began  a  crusade  against 
slavery.  Men  laughed  him  to  scorn,  but  he 
laboured  on  until  England  was  shaken  from 
centre  to  circumference,  and  the  name  of  Wilber- 
force and  Liberty  became  a  household  word. 
What  was  the  secret  of  his  success?  Wilberforce 
knew  how  to  pray.  Oh  for  a  baptism  of  divine 
power  which  will  make  us  men  like  Luther,  Knox, 
and  Wesley! — men  who  revolutionized  the 
world  by  their  prayers.  They  were  moral  giants 
in  their  day  and  generation. 

But  heroes  for  God  and  humanity  have  not 
all  become  mere  names  of  a  glorious  past.  The 
leaders  and  reformers  of  to-morrow  are  to  be 
found  in  our  churches  to-day.  The  call  of  Christ 
comes  to  you  saying,  "Arise!"  Respond  to  the 
call !  Rise  to  the  occasion  and  play  the  man !  If 
in  your  hearts  you  know  that  you  are  supplanters, 


The  Possibilities  of  the  Average  Man    105 

defrauders,  that  you  are  living  beneath  your 
privileges,  that  God  and  the  world  have  a  right 
to  expect  greater  things  of  you;  if  these  are  your 
true  sentiments,  there  is  hope  for  you,  and  by  the 
power  of  the  Holy  Ghost  you  may  become  princes 
and  have  power  with  God  and  prevail.  You  too 
must  meet  God  in  Christ.  The  crisis  of  your  life 
has  arrived.  Act  now!  Plead  the  promises  of 
God,  the  mighty  promises  of  pardon,  of  peace, 
of  adoption  and  power,  those  glorious  promises 
which  are  all  "Yea"  and  "Amen  in  Christ,"  and 
you  shall  be  saved,  and  go  forth  to  bless  the 
world. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

A   MORAL  TRAGEDY 

He  then  having  received  the  sop  ivent  immediately  out:  and  it 
ivas  night. — John  XIII,  30. 

THE  history  of  Judas  is  full  of  warning  and 
instruction.  We  are  favoured  with  an  ac- 
count of  his  call,  of  his  work,  and  of  his  exit 
from  the  stage.  Knowing  the  end  of  his  career, 
from  the  beginning,  we  are  liable  to  imagine  that 
he  was  a  failure  from  the  outset.  However  we 
may  speculate  about  this  idea,  there  is  nothing  in 
the  narrative  to  support  it,  and  besides,  it  is  con- 
trary to  everyday  experience.  Many  a  man  has 
begun  well,  has  given  promise  of  becoming  a 
bright  and  shining  light,  has  betrayed  his  trust, 
yielded  to  inclination,  to  pleasure,  to  passion,  and 
ultimately  gone  out  into  the  night.  To  say  what 
some  people  who  apparently  have  no  time  for 
religion,  are  continually  saying,  "If  I'm  born  to 
be  saved,  I'll  be  saved;  and  if  I'm  born  to  be  lost, 
I'll  be  lost,"  is  to  subscribe  to  the  creed  of  Fate. 
The  sooner  we  give  the  lie  to  such  an  unchristian 
notion  the  better.  It  arises  from  the  teaching 
which  is  so  rampant  to-day,  and  which  is  so  per- 
sistently taught  by  materialists,  that  man  is  a  ma- 

io6 


A  Moral  Tragedy  107 

chine,  and  therefore  not  responsible  for  his  ac- 
tions, whether  they  are  good,  bad,  or  indifferent. 
If  man  is  not  responsible  for  his  actions,  then 
Christianity  is  a  delusion,  and  the  sooner  we  pull 
down  our  churches  and  burn  our  Bibles  the 
better. 

But  man  is  a  morally  accountable  being.  This 
doctrine  of  non-responsibility  only  needs  to  be 
looked  at  to  be  condemned.  If  there  is  no  such 
thing  as  sin,  and  man  is  not  morally  responsible 
for  his  actions,  it  is  not  only  religion  that  will 
have  to  go;  everything  that  belongs  to  law  and 
order,  to  honour  and  justice,  will  have  to  go  with 
it.  Let  us  not  delude  ourselves,  we  are  morally 
responsible  for  our  actions.  Obligation  is  rooted 
and  grounded  in  our  nature.  God  has  given  us 
the  awful  power  of  choice.  We  may  choose 
good,  and  we  may  choose  evil.  What  we  do,  we 
do  deliberately. 

Before  we  subscribe  to  the  creed  of  Fate  let 
us  acquaint  ourselves  with  the  plain  teaching  of 
Scripture.  St.  Peter  writes,  "The  Lord  is  not 
slack  concerning  His  promise,  as  some  men  count 
slackness;  but  is  long-suffering  to  usward,  not 
willing  that  any  should  perish,  but  that  all  should 
come  to  repentance."  St.  Paul  states,  "God  will 
have  all  men  to  be  saved,  and  to  come  unto  the 
knowledge  of  the  truth." 

Some  people  profess  to  believe  that  Judas  had 
to  be  lost.  If  we  were  more  fully  acquainted  with 
our  Bibles  we  would  see  that  he  had  repeated 


io8  Soul  Crises 

warnings  and  opportunities  to  turn  from  the  path 
he  deliberately  chose.  The  career  of  Judas  is 
a  true  commentary  of  sin  in  its  workings.  He  is 
a  type  of  the  man  who  is  only  partially  spiritual. 
He  heard  Christ's  call  and  accompanied  Him  as 
"He  went  about  doing  good,"  but  he  was  not 
fully  consecrated  to  his  holy  task.  He  compro- 
mised with  evil  until  he  was  led  captive  by  the 
devil  at  his  will  and  committed  an  act,  the  nature 
of  which  makes  every  honest  man  tremble  at  the 
possibilities   of  his  own  sinful  nature. 

In  reviewing  the  life  of  Judas  let  us  not  sit  in 
judgment  upon  him,  rather  "let  him  that  thinketh 
he  standeth  take  heed  lest  he  fall."  First  of  all 
then  let  us  glance  at  his  life  as  an  apostle.  It 
is  evident  that  at  the  beginning  of  his  apostolic 
career,  Judas  felt  the  thrill  of  a  great  emotion. 
This  is  the  only  way  we  can  reasonably  account 
for  his  becoming  a  follower  of  Christ.  There 
must  have  been  that  act  of  renunciation  which 
every  man  makes  who  leaves  all  to  follow  Christ. 
It  means  a  great  deal  to  follow  Christ  in  these 
days,  but  it  meant  a  great  deal  more  then.  There 
was  the  question  of  his  home  and  its  associations 
which  Judas  cheerfully  left.  It  means  something 
to  leave  home.  It  means  a  great  deal  to  a  father 
when  his  son  leaves  home.  There  is  a  great  deal 
of  anxious  thought  of  which  the  son  knows  little 
or  nothing.  I  have  read  of  a  father  who  ac- 
companied his  son  to  the  railway  station.  The 
son  was  going  to  try  his  fortunes  on  the  troubled 


A  Moral  Tragedy  109 

sea  of  the  world.  As  the  father  bade  his  son 
good-bye  he  said,  with  a  face  that  revealed  his 
strong  emotion,  "If  you  disgrace  me,  It  will  break 
my  heart."  If  it  means  something  to  a  father 
when  his  son  leaves  home,  what  does  it  mean  to 
a  mother?  Only  a  mother  knows!  We  may 
surmise  a  little  as  we  see  an  occasional  tear  steal 
down  her  cheek,  as  we  hear  her  loving  counsel; 
and  as  we  see  her  retire  to  her  room  to  pray  for 
the  well-being  of  her  boy.  It  means  something 
to  a  youth  who  is  leaving  home,  It  may  be  for  a 
town  or  city  far  away,  and  when  at  last  he  finds 
that  the  domestic  tie  has  been  severed  and  he  is 
alone  in  a  strange  place,  he  retires  to  his  room  to 
meditate,  to  live  again  those  glorious  days  of 
childhood,  to  think  perhaps  for  the  first  time  seri- 
ously of  all  the  love  and  care  that  has  been 
lavished  upon  him  by  his  devoted  parents.  And 
he  vows  that  he  will  do  all  in  his  power  to  be 
a  credit  to  them.  Blessed  indeed  is  the  youth  if 
at  that  moment  he  drops  on  his  knees,  and  by 
faith  puts  his  hand  Into  the  hand  of  Christ. 

Then  there  was  the  question  of  occupation. 
We  are  not  in  a  position  to  say  what  enterprise 
Judas  was  engaged  in  when  Christ  called  him 
but  no  doubt  it  would  be  worthy  of  his  talents. 
There  was  no  gainsaying  the  fact  that  Judas  was 
a  clever  young  man.  His  talents  were  recognized 
Immediately  by  Christ  who  made  him  the 
treasurer  of  the  Apostolic  band.  It  is  the  young 
man  of  unquestioned  ability  who  receives  our  ad- 


no  Soul  Crises 

miration.  It  is  the  young  man  of  indisputed  in- 
tegrity who  commands  our  respect.  It  is  the 
brilliant  young  man  who  is  most  exposed  to  the 
fierce  blast  of  temptation.  Whatever  enterprise 
Judas  was  engaged  in,  he  gave  it  up  to  follow 
Christ.  Then  last,  but  not  least,  there  was  the 
question  of  pride.  There  is  little  doubt  that 
Judas,  as  a  talented  young  man,  stood  well  in  the 
good  graces  of  his  fellow  citizens.  To  run  counter 
to  their  wishes,  to  break  with  them,  would  require 
no  mean  moral  effort.  To  throw  in  his  lot  with 
Jesus  of  Nazareth,  who  was  making  a  bold  at- 
tempt to  achieve  the  impossible,  would  be  re- 
garded by  his  friends  as  an  act  not  merely  of 
folly  but  of  insanity.  Even  in  our  own  times, 
after  centuries  of  the  indisputable  benefits  of 
Christianity,  when  young  men  begin  to  follow 
Christ  they  are  labelled  by  the  worldly  wise  as 
fools  and  madmen.  If  young  men  find  it  neces- 
sary to  take  a  determined  stand  to-day,  what 
must  it  have  meant  then  when  everybody  who 
wanted  to  be  recognized  as  somebody  looked 
askance  upon  the  strange  Man  who  made  no  secret 
of  His  intention  of  establishing  a  kingdom  of 
God,  a  kingdom  which  was  "not  meat  and  drink, 
but  righteousness  and  peace  and  joy  in  the  Holy 
Ghost"? 

It  is  easy  for  us  to  imagine  with  what  joy  we 
would  have  hailed  the  call  to  be  an  apostle,  but 
if  the  Lord  Christ  were  walking  our  streets  to- 
day, as  He  did  in  the  days  of  His  flesh,  and  we 


A  Moral  Tragedy  III 

heard  Him  denouncing  as  a  hollow  sham  the  re- 
ligion of  some  of  our  most  prominent  church 
members,  I'm  afraid  we  would  pass  by  on  the 
other  side.  But  Judas,  and  let  us  not  hesitate 
to  give  him  his  due,  left  all  and  followed  the  Man 
of  Gahlee.  Yes!  He  left  all  I  He  made  the 
grand  renunciation.  He  left  all  that  was  behind 
and  then !  Oh !  How  we  would  like  to  picture 
his  triumphs  as  an  apostle !  But  facts  are  against 
us.  He  signally  failed  to  grasp  in  its  fullness  the 
life  and  the  vigour  which  Christ  sought  to  impart. 
As  far  as  he  went,  he  did  splendidly,  and  had  he 
absorbed  the  spirit  of  the  Master,  caught  His 
imperial  vision,  and  thrown  himself  body  and 
soul  into  the  work,  there  is  every  reason  to  be- 
lieve that  he,  too,  like  Peter  and  James  and 
John,  would  have  gone  on  to  attain  glory,  honour, 
and  immortality. 

The  tragedy  of  his  life  is  that  his  enthusiasm 
was  short-lived.  He  lost  his  first  love.  His 
ardour  dwindled  to  conventional  conformity,  and 
while  he  kept  up  a  respectable  appearance  before 
the  Lord  Christ,  his  heart  was  far  from  Him. 

What  is  wrong  with  our  churches  to-day?  Is 
it  not  precisely  this:  that  we  are  half-hearted? 
That  our  attention  is  too  much  divided,  that  we 
are  endeavouring  to  serve  God  and  Mammon? 
This  half-heartedness  is  in  the  pulpit  as  well  as 
in  the  pew.  Is  the  charge  true,  so  frequently 
made,  that  we  preach  as  though  we  were  almost 
ready  to  apologise  for  the  content  of  the  message 


112  Soul  Crises 

which  has  wrought  more  radical  changes  than 
all  other  messages  combined?  The  charge  may 
be  quite  uncalled  for,  but,  for  the  sake  of  Him 
whose  we  are  and  whom  we  serve,  let  us  give 
ample  evidence  that  we  believe  the  truths  we 
proclaim.  "If  the  trumpet  shall  give  an  uncer- 
tain sound  who  shall  prepare  himself  for  battle?" 
If  there  is  no  danger,  why  any  need  for  alarm? 
If  a  lion  in  our  midst  got  loose,  we  would  quickly 
overcome  our  reserve.  We  might  even  risk  our 
lives  to  save  a  child  from  his  terrible  jaws,  and 
with  the  handiest  available  weapon  we  would 
challenge  the  beast  to  mortal  combat.  What  we 
need  to  realize  is  that  we  are  daily  exposed  to 
evils  infinitely  more  aggressive  than  any  lion  that 
roams  the  wilds.  Our  fathers  used  to  say,  "The 
devil  goeth  about  as  a  roaring  lion  seeking  whom 
he  may  devour."  And  they  preached  as  though 
they  believed  it.  Now,  some  of  us  say  quite 
candidly,  "There  is  no  lion."  Others  of  us  are 
saying,  "There  may  be  a  lion,  but  in  any  case  he 
has  lost  his  teeth."  And  a  number  of  us,  by 
our  indifferent  attitude  are  saying,  "Let  him 
roar."  Brethren !  our  half-heartedness  is  peril- 
ous. Beware!  lest  in  our  case,  it  lead  into  the 
gulf  into  which  Judas  by  transgression  fell. 

Is  it  not  lamentable  that  young  preachers 
should  be  studying  the  latest  commentary  to  see 
if  they  are  still  to  believe  in  a  devil?  My  ex- 
perience leads  me  to  remark  that  they  do  not  need 
to  go  so  far.     If  the  devil  could  demoralize  an 


A  Moral  Tragedy  1 13 

apostle  who  then  can  be  saved?  No  compromis- 
ing Christian  can  be  saved.  One  of  the  glaring 
detects  of  present-day  religion  is  that  so  many  of 
us  have  a  name  to  live  and  are  dead.  But  if  we 
are  alive  in  Him  we  need  not  fear.  So  long  as 
we  are  loyal  to  Christ  we  are  invulnerable.  Too 
many  of  us  who  are  preaching  the  gospel  are 
like  lions  chained.  Our  diction  must  be  fault- 
less, and  we  must  of  necessity  be  held  in  by  cul- 
tured restraint.  One  feels  like  saying  to  the 
advocates  of  restraint,  of  the  man  of  God  who  is 
so  liberally  endowed,  "Loose  him,  and  let  him 
go."  Oh  to  be  swayed  with  a  passion  for  right- 
eousness !  To  recognize  fully,  and  to  feel  keenly 
the  tremendous  issues  at  stake!  The  awful  pos- 
sibility of  men  becoming  traitors  or  saints,  a 
Judas  or  a  St.  Paul ! 

The  subtle  forces  of  evil  are  still  at  work  in 
the  home,  in  the  church,  and  in  the  world.  Con- 
sider who  Judas  was.  He  wasn't  a  heathen,  he 
was  a  Christian,  and  a  Christian  apostle  at  that. 
If  the  devil  could  take  possession  of  an  apostle, 
under  the  very  eye  of  Christ,  we  should  realize 
once  for  all  that  nothing  but  whole-hearted  devo- 
tion to  Christ  and  His  cause  will  save  us,  and 
the  people  to  whom  we  preach.  You  may  still 
contend  that  Judas  was  not  an  apostle  at  heart. 
Possibly  not.  But  who  are  we  to  sit  in  judgment 
against  Judas?  Will  any  of  us  affirm  that  our 
motives  are  without  alloy,  that  our  loyalty  is  be- 
yond question?     If  we  rightly  read  our  hearts, 


114  Soul  Crises 

we  will  have  no  Pharisaic  thoughts  nor  harsh 
words  to  level  against  the  man  who  became  a 
traitor. 

This  leads  us  to  the  oft  repeated  question: 
Why  did  Christ  choose  Judas  as  one  of  the 
twelve?  The  inference  underlying  this  question 
is  that  Christ  saw  the  end  from  the  beginning. 
Even  though  He  did,  one  thing  is  certain:  The 
Lord  had  a  perfect  right  to  call  "unto  Him  whom 
He  would."  Is  it  not  possible  that  Christ  chose 
Judas  to  avert  a  great  moral  disaster?  He  chose 
him  because  He  saw  in  him  great  possibilities 
both  for  good  and  evil.  He  saw  the  bent  of  his 
nature  and,  in  His  compassion,  gave  him  the 
unique  privilege  of  making  his  calling  and  elec- 
tion sure,  before  His  eyes.  When  Judas  re- 
sponded to  the  call  of  Christ  he  was  full  of  high 
and  holy  aspirations,  and  possibly  he  vowed  in 
his  heart,  by  his  loyalty  and  devotion  to  become 
the  very  chiefest  apostle.  The  tragic  close  of 
his  career  must  not  blind  us  to  the  fact  that  at 
the  outset  there  was  a  most  promising  beginning. 
If  we  are  so  interested  in  our  Lord's  choice  of 
Judas,  has  it  ever  dawned  upon  us  to  ask  why  He 
has  chosen  us?  "Ye  have  not  chosen  Me,  but  I 
have  chosen  you."  Christ  sees  a  divine  possibil- 
ity in  every  one  of  us.  He  never  fails  to  see  the 
diamond  in  the  rough,  and  had  Judas  been  true 
to  His  Lord,  the  story  of  his  life  would  have  been 
very  different. 

When  did  Judas  begin  to  go  astray?    That  is 


A  Moral  Tragedy  115 

hard  to  determine.  We  only  can  conjecture. 
The  only  man  who  could  have  told  us  was  Judas. 
Every  individual  who  is  trifling  with,  or  being 
driven  almost  to  desperation  through  secret  sin 
could  give  us  a  fairly  good  idea  as  to  when  it 
was  first  encouraged,  if  he  would.  Very  small 
and  almost  imperceptible  are  the  beginnings  of 
sin,  but  how  quickly  it  grows  to  a  giant  before 
whom  we  quiver  in  dismay!  The  first  hint  we 
get  of  the  apostasy  of  Judas  is  given  by  our  Lord, 
about  a  year  before  His  crucifixion.  ''But  there 
are  some  of  you  that  believe  not."  Jesus  knew 
what  was  going  on  in  the  heart  of  Judas  long  be- 
fore He  gave  this  first  gentle  rebuke.  A  greater 
significance  is  given  to  many  of  our  Lord's  re- 
marks when  we  remember  the  disloyalty,  the  dis- 
honesty, and  the  consequent  disaster  of  "one  of 
the  twelve."  Judas  started  on  the  down  grade 
when  he  began  to  encourage  and  entertain  dis- 
loyal thoughts  about  the  Master.  What  is  the 
cause  of  disloyalty?  UnbeHef  I  If  you  begin  to 
doubt  people,  if  you  cease  to  believe  In  them  or 
their  principles,  you  will  soon  cease  to  love  them. 
What  led  to  this  change  in  one  who  began  so 
bravely,  who  promised  so  well?  Judas  was  dis- 
appointed. He  had  expected  something  different, 
and  so  had  all  the  disciples.  They  entertained 
hopes  of  a  political  kingdom  and  of  an  honoured 
place  In  the  cabinet.  They  were  soon  Informed 
of  their  delusion,  for  Jesus  told  them  plainly  that 
His  kingdom  was  not  of  this  world.     He  tried 


ii6  Soul  Crises 

to  educate  them  to  the  Idea  that  the  Kingdom  of 
God  was  something  more  impressive,  something 
more  magnificent,  something  more  enduring  than 
they  had  ever  dreamed.  Consequently  the  eleven 
became  more  attached  to  their  master.  Their 
lives  were  transformed  by  faith  and  hope  and 
love,  but  not  so  Judas.  He  gradually  became  em- 
bittered, and  instead  of  growing  in  grace  he  be- 
came absorbed  in  side  issues.  His  disappoint- 
ment developed  into  unbelief.  How  full  of 
pathos  are  our  Lord's  words,  especially  when  we 
consider  His  persistent  efforts  to  get  Judas  to 
share  the  same  spiritual  vision  that  He  was  seek- 
ing to  impart  to  the  rest  of  His  disciples !  "But 
there  are  some  of  you  that  believe  not."  The 
measure  of  a  man's  love  is  determined  by  his 
faith.  Great  faith  bespeaks  a  great  love.  There 
are  two  kinds  of  unbelief,  intellectual  and  emo- 
tional. They  are  Intimately  related.  When  one 
dies  the  coffin  may  be  ordered  for  the  other.  Of 
Intellectual  unbelief  we  have  very  little  to  fear. 
What  we  do  need  to  fear,  and  that  persistently, 
is  Infidelity  of  the  heart.  This  is  where  Judas 
fell  down.  He  ceased  to  love  ardently,  passion- 
ately, and  his  affections  which  had  been  bestowed 
upon  his  Lord  were  transferred.  It  follows  with 
unerring  precision  that  when  a  man  ceases  to 
love  the  Lord  with  a  strong,  healthy  devotion, 
he  ceases  to  live  as  every  lover  should  live.  In 
pleading  for  a  whole-hearted  devotion  of  our- 
selves to  Christ  it  may  not  be  amiss  to  say,  "Thou 


A  Moral  Tragedy  1 17 

shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart, 
with  all  thy  mind,  and  with  all  thy  might."  Let 
us  beware  of  "infidelity  of  the  heart!"  We  never 
know  where  it  may  lead.  What  a  sorry  sight  to 
see  a  man  transferring  his  love  for  the  Lord  to 
"the  love  of  money." 

How  thoroughly  Judas  was  out  of  sympathy 
with  Christ  and  His  Teaching  is  evidenced  by  his 
remarks  at  Bethany  when  Mary  opened  an  ala- 
baster box  of  ointment  "and  anointed  the  feet 
of  Jesus!"  "Why  was  not  this  ointment  sold  for 
three  hundred  pence,  and  given  to  the  poor?" 
He  was  quite  insensible  to  the  fragrance  of 
Mary's  immortal  deed.  He  begrudged  the  loss 
of  three  hundred  pence,  and  received  a  well- 
deserved  rebuke  from  the  Master.  John  throws 
a  flood  of  light  on  the  besetting  sin  of  Judas  when 
he  replies,  "This  he  said,  not  that  he  cared  for 
the  poor;  but  because  he  was  a  thief,  and  had  the 
bag,  and  bare  what  was  put  therein."  By  this 
time  Judas  had  sunk  so  low  that  he  was  dis- 
honest. He  had  cultivated  the  pernicious  habit 
of  pilfering.  He  waxed  worse  and  worse  until 
Jesus  said,  "One  of  you  is  a  devil,"  but  every 
warning  was  heard  by  Judas  without  the  slightest 
concern.  In  that  eloquent  act  of  our  Lord,  when 
He  washed  the  feet  of  His  disciples.  He  washed 
the  feet  of  Judas.  Yes!  He  washed  the  feet  of 
one  who  was  already  contemplating  His  betrayal. 
That  was  enough  to  soften  a  heart  of  stone,  but 
there  was  no  response   from  Judas.     When  He 


Ii8  Soul  Crises 

had  finished  the  Lord  said,  "Ye  are  clean,  but 
not  all."  Shortly  after  He  was  troubled  in  spirit, 
and  testified,  and  said,  "Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto 
you,  that  one  of  you  shall  betray  me."  This 
startling  intimation  filled  the  hearts  of  those 
eleven  honest  men  with  dismay  and  fearing  lest 
they  might  be  foiled  by  the  deceitfulness  of  their 
own  hearts  they  eagerly  asked,  "Lord,  is  it  I?" 
They  were  all  deeply  grieved  but  Judas,  and  it 
seems  after  the  question  had  gone  the  rounds 
that,  to  save  his  face,  he  said;  not,  "Lord,  is  it 
I?"  but,  "Is  it  I,  Rabbi?"  The  breach  was 
widening  between  him  and  the  Master.  Our 
Lord's  reply  is  full  of  significance.  "What  thou 
hast  said,  there  is  no  need  for  me  to  say." 

It  is  painfully  apparent  that  when  a  man  is 
untrue  to  Christ  he  becomes  untrue  to  himself, 
he  loses  his  self-respect,  he  sacrifices  his  honour, 
and  after  that  he  is  capable  of  anything,  even 
treachery  and  suicide.  All  previous  entreaties, 
all  previous  warnings  have  failed,  and  now  the 
final  crisis  has  come.  What  will  Judas  do?  Will 
he  confess  the  detestable  part  he  has  been  play- 
ing? Not  he!  He  receives  the  sop,  goes  "im- 
mediately out,  and  it  was  night."  The  blackness 
of  that  awful  night  has  never  been  relieved.  It 
is  always  night  when  a  man  turns  his  back  upon 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Up  to  this  time  Judas 
had  been  tempted  of  the  devil.  Now  he  who  long 
ago  transferred  his  affections,  transfers  his  ser- 
vices from  Christ  to  Satan.     He  becomes  demon- 


A  Moral  Tragedy  1 19 

possessed.  And  not  content  with  deserting  he  de- 
termines to  betray  the  Master  with  a  kiss  for 
thirty  pieces  of  silver.  Can  you  imagine  a  deed 
more  unspeakable? 

Yet  Judas  does  not  stand  alone.  You  regard 
such  an  act  as  his  with  abhorrence,  but  Judas  did 
not  become  a  traitor  in  a  day.  This  soul  tragedy 
can  be  traced  to  waning  zeal,  to  disloyalty  to 
Christ.  What  of  your  affections?  Where  are 
they  placed?  Do  you  love  gold  more  than  you 
love  God?  Is  your  creed  "Get  money  honestly  if 
you  can,  but  get  it?"  Beware!  "What?"  you 
say,  "are  you  charging  respectable  people  with  be- 
traying Christ?"  Yes!  We  have  betrayed  Him, 
and  often  for  less  than  thirty  pieces  of  silver. 

One  more  glance  at  Judas.  "When  he  saw" 
Jesus  condemned  the  full  significance  of  his 
diabolical  deed,  burst  in  upon  him,  and  rushing 
into  the  presence  of  the  chief  priests,  he  cried, 
"I  have  sinned  in  that  I  have  betrayed  the  inno- 
cent blood."  He  threw  down  the  money  and 
then  went  out  and  hanged  himself.  How  heart- 
rending is  the  last  sermon  Judas  preached!  "I 
have  betrayed  innocent  blood."  O  Judas,  why 
didst  thou  not  turn  and  glance  at  the  Saviour? 
His  look  might  have  broken  thy  heart,  as  it 
broke  Peter^s  heart,  and  thou  mightest  have  been 
saved,  even  in  the  eleventh  hour!  Christ  did  not 
expel  Judas.  He  left  Christ,  and  the  last  word 
recorded  of  him  is,  that  he  went  "to  his  own 
place."     That,  and  no  other,  in  the  end,  will  we 


I20  Soul  Crises 

all  find.  What  place  are  we  preparing  for?  The 
money  we  sell  our  souls  for,  we  are  going  to 
leave  behind,  so  that  those  who  led  us  as  oxen 
to  the  slaughter  may  buy  an  "Aceldama,"  a  "field 
of  blood."  As  we  meditate  upon  the  tragic  close 
of  a  career  that  opened  so  full  of  promise,  let  us 
remember  that  disloyalty  may  end  in  disaster,  and 
reverently  pray 

"More   love   to   Thee,   O   Christ, 
More  love  to  Thee!" 


CHAPTER  IX 

A   RECALL,    OR   THE    MAN   WHO   CAME    BACK 

Go  .  .  .  tell  His  disciples   and  Peter.— Mzrk   XVI,   7. 

IN  the  gospels  the  character  of  Peter  is  very 
early  portrayed.  He  is  shown  to  us  in  his 
glory  on  the  heights,  also  in  the  valley,  crest- 
fallen and  ashamed.  That  we  may  form  a  true 
estimate  of  his  worth,  all  sides  of  his  character 
are  brought  under  our  gaze.  He  comes  on  the 
scene  a  sturdy  fisherman,  he  plays  a  dramatic  part, 
and  makes  his  exit  from  the  stage  as  a  martyr. 
He  made  huge  blunders,  but  these  must  not  blind 
us  to  the  fact  that  he  was  a  great  man,  he  was 
a  diamond  in  the  rough,  and  he  did  a  work  for 
God,  the  greatness  and  extent  of  which  eternity 
alone  will  fully  reveal.  Let  us  consider  briefly 
his  life  and  work.  Before  we  venture  to  criticise 
Peter,  it  will  be  necessary  for  us  to  recall  our  own 
experience  to  see  if  it  has  all  been  sunshine,  if  it 
has  all  been  singing,  if  it  has  been  one  long  un- 
interrupted triumph.  If  it  has,  we  will  not  be 
able  to  sympathize  with  the  failings  of  Peter.  It 
will  be  quite  foreign  to  us  why  he  so  often  made 
mistakes.  But  if  our  experience  has  not  been  a 
brilliant  achievement,   if  there  have  been  times 

121 


122  Soul  Crises 

in  our  Christian  career  when  we  felt  like  stealing 
away  into  the  darkness  rather  than  walking  in 
the  light,  if  we  have  been  down  in  the  valley 
through  some  humiliating  experience,  if  since  we 
began  to  serve  God  we  have  had  dark  days  as 
well  as  bright,  then  there  are  some  useful  lessons 
to  be  taught  us  by  the  ups  and  downs  of  Peter. 

To  begin  with,  let  us  look  at  his  devotion.  His 
devotion  may  be  summed  up  in  his  call,  his 
candour,  his  courage,  and  his  confession.  Before 
he  became  a  disciple  he  was  arrested  by  the  fiery 
preaching  of  John  the  Baptist.  The  message  of 
that  stern  preacher  of  righteousness  made  a  pro- 
found impression  upon  Peter.  He  became  an 
ardent  seeker  for  the  Truth.  To  his  habits  of 
temperance  and  frugality,  he  added  the  habit  of 
piety.  He  identified  himself  with  the  great 
preacher  of  righteousness.  He  listened  with  awe 
to  every  message,  and  his  imagination  was  fired 
by  the  prospect  of  the  coming  of  the  mighty  one 
who  would  baptize  with  the  Holy  Ghost  and  with 
fire. 

One  day  Andrew,  his  brother,  with  a  new  light 
in  his  eye  and  a  new  ring  in  his  voice,  came  and 
said,  "We  have  found  Him,"  and  he  took  Peter 
to  Jesus.  Jesus  was  impressed  with  Peter  as 
soon  as  He  saw  him,  and  gave  him  the  name  by 
which  we  know  him.  As  yet  Peter  was  not  an 
apostle,  but  he  was  a  Christian,  and  when,  some 
months  later,  Jesus  passed  by  the  place  where 
Andrew  and  Peter  were  fishing.  He  called  them. 


A  Recall,  or  the  Man  Who  Came  Back    123 

"And  straightway  they  left  their  nets,  and  fol- 
lowed Him."  When  Christ  called,  Peter  was 
ready.  Without  hesitation  or  reluctance,  he  left 
all.  He  did  not  begin  to  weigh  the  pros  and 
cons,  he  knew  that  the  Person  who  had  captured 
his  affections  wanted  his  services,  and  straightway 
he  followed  Him. 

What  did  it  mean  for  Peter  to  respond  to  the 
call  of  Christ?  Some  people  say  it  did  not  mean 
much,  as  he  had  not  much  to  leave.  However 
that  may  be,  he  was  whole-hearted  in  his  response. 
On  another  occasion  he  said,  "Lo !  we  have  left 
all  and  followed  Thee."  Whatever  that  all  was 
it  would  cost  an  effort  to  leave  it.  There  were 
his  boat  and  his  nets,  and  with  these  he  had 
earned  his  living.  But  whatever  the  cost,  what- 
ever the  sacrifice,  Christ  calls.  Therefore  fare- 
well boats,  nets,  and  friends,  henceforth  I  am  go- 
ing to  follow  Jesus.  Can  we  say  we  have  left 
all? 

Peter's  immediate  response  to  Christ's  call  was 
prophetic.  He  always  decided  quickly.  He  was 
essentially  a  man  of  action.  His  candour  was 
sublime.  He  was  so  natural  and  exuberant  that 
wherever  he  put  in  an  appearance  the  place  be- 
came instinct  with  life.  There  was  a  delightful 
uncertainty  about  Peter.  We  are  not  always  sure 
what  he  will  do  or  say,  but  we  can  count  on  his 
doing  or  saying  something.  7^he  social  instinct 
was  strongly  developed  in  him.  He  was  easy  to 
get  acquainted  with,  and  when  he  comes  upon  the 


124  Soul  Crises 

scene  we  begin  to  feel  at  home.  Peter  was  almost 
a  total  stranger  to  reserve.  Some  good  people 
maintain  that  Peter  talked  too  much.  Perhaps  so, 
but  if  a  certain  few  talk  too  much  in  the  Lord's 
presence,  do  not  a  great  many  of  us  talk  too  little? 
We  are  indebted  to  Peter  for  talking.  If  he  had 
not  done  so  we  would  not  have  had  such  an  in- 
teresting new  Testament.  We  know  more  about 
Peter  than  any  of  the  disciples.  He  had  an 
honesty  of  purpose,  and  an  integrity  of  soul  that 
we  cannot  but  admire.  One  day  the  Lord  bor- 
rowed Peter's  boat,  "and  He  sat  down,  and 
taught  the  people  out  of  the  ship."  When  He 
had  finished  speaking  He  asked  Peter  to  launch 
out  into  the  deep,  and  let  down  the  nets  for  a 
draught.  With  delightful  candour  he  said, 
"Master,  we  have  toiled  all  the  night,  and  have 
taken  nothing,  nevertheless  at  Thy  word  I  will 
let  down  the  net."  'I  am  an  experienced  fisher- 
man, and  I  don't  think  it's  any  use,  but  we'll  try 
it  anyway.'  "And  when  they  had  this  done,  they 
enclosed  a  great  multitude  of  fishes :  and  their  net 
brake."  Peter  was  astonished  beyond  measure. 
He  felt  he  was  in  the  presence  of  the  Master 
Fisherman;  One  who  knew  infinitely  more  about 
fishing  than  he  did. 

Peter's  courage  was  as  pronounced  as  his 
candour.  While  faith  was  struggling  into  being 
in  timorous  souls,  Peter's  was  learning  to  walk. 
His  courageous  venture  upon  the  water  was 
simply  grand.     He  is  the  only  fisherman  so  far  as 


A  Recall,  or  the  Man  JVho  Came  Back    125 

my  knowledge  goes,  who  has  the  unique  distinc- 
tion of  having  walked  upon  the  water.  He  was 
ready  at  a  moment's  notice  to  put  Christ  to  the 
test,  and  by  so  doing  achieved  the  impossible.  It 
is  of  the  very  nature  of  faith  to  attempt  and  ac- 
complish the  impossible.  O  that  Christ  may  be 
as  real  to  us  as  he  was  to  Peter! 

Peter's  courage  was  one  of  the  chief  elements 
of  his  character,  but  even  his  courage  pales  be- 
fore his  confession.  When  told  by  His  disciples, 
of  the  controversy  among  the  people  as  to  who 
He  was,  Jesus  asked  His  disciples,  and  Peter 
answered  and  said,  "Thou  art  the  Christ,  the  son 
of  the  living  God."  His  confession  marks  an 
epoch  in  the  training  of  the  twelve.  There  was 
a  loyalty  about  Peter,  he  was  a  born  leader  and 
his  devotion  to  his  Lord  left  nothing  to  be  de- 
sired. He  enjoyed  fellowship  with  Jesus  for 
three  years.  He  laboured  faithfully  to  extend  the 
Kingdom,  went  on  a  missionary  tour,  and  even 
cast  out  devils  in  the  name  of  Christ. 

Some  of  us  were  brought  to  Christ  in  a  similar 
manner  to  Peter.  Some  John  the  Baptist  alarmed 
us  by  the  announcement  that  even  now  the  axe 
was  laid  at  the  root  of  the  tree,  that  the  advent 
of  a  new  order  was  at  hand,  and  before  our  won- 
dering eyes,  he  cried,  "Behold  the  Lamb  of  God!" 
Or  some  Andrew,  some  modest  but  enterprising 
Andrew,  came  and  said,  "We  have  found  the 
Messias,"  and  he  brought  us  to  Jesus.  Like 
Peter  we  may  have  done  great  things  for  God. 


126  Soul  Crises 

We  may  have  preached  the  gospel  and  even  cast 
out  devils  in  the  name  of  Christ.  We  may  have 
known  Christ  more  than  three  years,  and  our 
devotion  to  our  Master  may  be  unquestionable, 
but  possibly,  like  Peter  we  have  yet  many  things 
to  learn. 

Shall  we  now  take  a  look  at  Peter's  mistakes. 
Peter  was  very  self-reliant.  He  had  a  great 
amount  of  confidence  regarding  his  own  ability. 
Peter  to  him  was  a  very  important  person.  He 
sometimes  tried  to  dispute  the  point  with  the 
Master  and  because  of  his  self-assertiveness,  he 
often  descended  quickly  from  the  mount  into  the 
valley.  After  his  inspiring  revelation  from 
heaven  regarding  the  divinity  of  his  Lord,  Christ 
said,  "Blessed  are  thou,  Simon  Barjona:  for  flesh 
and  blood  hath  not  revealed  it  unto  thee,  but  my 
Father  which  is  in  heaven."  Immediately  after 
this  hearty  commendation,  the  Lord  began  to 
speak  of  what  He  must  suffer  in  Jerusalem.  And 
Peter,  who  had  not  yet  learned  that  we  pass 
through  death  into  life,  "began  to  rebuke  Him 
saying,  'Be  it  far  from  Thee,  Lord:  this  shall  not 
be  unto  Thee.'  But  He  turned,  and  said  unto 
Peter,  'Get  thee  behind  Me,  Satan;  thou  art  an 
offence  unto  Me;  for  thou  savourest  not  the 
things  that  be  of  God,  but  those  that  be  of  men.'  " 

On  another  occasion  our  Lord  went  up  into 
a  mountain,  taking  with  Him  Peter  and  James 
and  John,  and  was  transfigured  before  them. 
Moses  and  EUas  appeared,  and  Peter  wanted  to 


A  Recall,  or  the  Man  JVho  Came  Back    127 

build  three  tabernacles.  This  was  a  great 
blunder.  A  Christ  always  on  the  transfigured 
mount  would  not  be  able  to  meet  the  needs  of 
perplexed  disciples,  a  distracted  father  and  a 
demon-possessed  boy  below.  A  transfiguration 
experience,  without  contact  with  the  struggling 
world,  would  be  a  delightful  experience,  no  doubt, 
but  it  would  not  tend  to  make  Peter  a  very  strong 
or  a  very  useful  saint.  I  believe  Peter  fully  in- 
tended to  prove  himself  a  valiant  Christian  sol- 
dier when  he  said,  "Though  all  men  shall  be  of- 
fended because  of  Thee,  yet  will  I  never  be  of- 
fended." But  Peter  did  not  know  himself  as 
his  Lord  knew  him.  He  had  great  lessons  in 
humility  to  learn  before  he  could  be  of  any  real 
service  to  Christ.  When  the  disciples  were  con- 
tending who  should  be  greatest,  Peter  was  one 
who  thought  he  had  a  right  to  the  first  place. 

As  the  earthly  career  of  our  Lord  neared  its 
close  He  warned  Peter  that  he  would  deny  Him, 
but  Peter  protested,  "Though  I  should  die  with 
Thee,  yet  will  I  not  deny  Thee."  The  next  scene 
is  in  Gethsemane.  The  Lord  was  exceeding  sor- 
rowful, and  if  ever  He  needed  the  sympathy  and 
prayers  of  His  disciples  it  was  then.  Peter  was 
one  who  was  asked  to  watch  and  pray  while  the 
Master  underwent  His  dreaded  experience.  An 
hour  elapsed,  and  the  Lord  returned  to  find 
Peter,  what?  Sharing  with  Him  in  sweating 
great  drops  of  blood?  Pouring  forth  his  en- 
treaties   to    God    that    He    will    strengthen    His 


128  Soul  Crises 

Master?  This  same  Peter  who  a  few  hours  be- 
fore declared  his  readiness  to  die  with  Him — 
how  does  He  find  him?  Does  He  find  the  en- 
thusiastic Peter  praying  and  prevailing  before 
God?  Alas,  No!  A  great  change  has  passed 
over  Peter.  He  is  asleep !  This  is  the  sign  of 
a  threatening  storm.  The  enemies  of  the  Son 
of  God  are  at  hand.  He  is  betrayed,  Peter 
awakes  and  follows  afar  off.  The  inevitable 
result  follows.  The  storm  breaks,  and  Peter  the 
great  is  fallen.  He  denies  his  Master  in  this 
grave  crisis.  He  loses  his  courage  and  his  honour 
before  an  insinuating  maid.  "Then  began  he  to 
curse  and  to  swear,  saying,  'I  know  not  the  man.' 
And  immediately  the  cock  crew." 

As  the  followers  of  Christ,  none  of  us  have 
reached  absolute  perfection.  There  was  a  time 
when  we  thought  we  were  nearing  perfection, 
but  now  we  see  it  afar.  Like  Peter,  we  have 
made  mistakes.  When  we  have  attended  a  trans- 
figuration convention  we  almost  have  forgotten 
the  perishing  multitudes.  When  we  first  began 
to  serve  the  Lord  we  thought  we  were  somebody, 
and  we  determined  to  live  a  life  minus  mistakes. 
We  had  great  revelations  of  God's  goodness  and 
at  times  we  did  exploits.  With  Peter  we  felt 
like  saying,  "Though  all  men  forsake  Thee,  yet 
will  not  L"  But  have  we  lived  up  to  our  ideals? 
No !  When  we  were  most  urgently  needed  to 
charge  the  forces  of  unrighteousness;  when  it 
was  imperative  for  us  to  come  up  to  the  help  of 


A  Recall,  or  the  Man  Who  Came  Back    129 

the  Lord  against  the  mighty,  we  failed.  And, 
we  must  confess  the  scandal  before  high  Heaven, 
we  were  asleep !  The  Lord  have  mercy  upon 
us  I 

And  bad  as  that  was,  there  is  something  even 
worse.  Some  of  us  are  asleep  now  I  Can  it  be 
that  we  form  part  of  a  sleeping  church?  This  is 
an  alarming  state  of  affairs.  The  church  asleep 
and  the  devil  awake.  May  God  in  His  mercy 
arouse  us  from  our  slumbers  I  We  have  ne- 
glected to  watch  and  pray,  we  have  walked  afar 
off,  we  have  denied  our  Lord.  What  a  ship- 
wreck we  have  made  of  it!  How  we  wish  we 
had  given  more  heed  to  the  danger  signal,  "Let 
him  that  thinketh  he  standeth,  take  heed  lest  he 
fall."  Like  Peter,  by  our  negligence  and  selfish- 
ness we  have  thrown  our  crowns  in  the  dust. 

Let  us  now  look  at  Peter's  repentance.  Peter 
was  in  the  mire,  his  fall  had  been  real  and  great. 
But  he  had  not  dropped  out  of  his  Master's  sight, 
for  in  the  very  act  of  denying  his  Master,  "the 
Lord  turned,  and  looked  upon  Peter."  Only  a 
look! — a  look  of  injured  love — but  it  broke 
Peter's  heart.  That  never  to  be  forgotten  look 
reminded  Peter  of  his  Lord's  warning  words. 
"And  Peter  went  out  and  wept  bitterly."  What 
anguish!  What  bitterness  crushed  his  spirit! 
What  have  I  done?  I  have  basely  denied  my 
Lord!  Can  there  be  any  forgiveness  for  such 
cowardice  at  such  a  time  as  this?  There  He  is 
in  the  midst  of  the  soldiers!     Look!     They  smite 


130  Soul  Crises 

Him !  they  spit  upon  Him,  and,  oh !  horrible  to 
relate,  they  have  crucified  Him,  but  mine  is  the 
greater  sin;  for  I  have  not  merely  forsaken  Him 
but  denied  Him!  Now  I  am  of  all  men  most 
miserable  for  Christ  is  dead  and  the  last  word 
He  heard  from  my  lips  was  one  of  base  denial. 
What!  Christ  dead!  No!  Peter.  He  lives 
and  He  has  sent  you  a  message,  "Go,  tell  my 
disciples  and  Peter  I  go  before  you  into  Galilee: 
there  shall  ye  see  me."  It's  just  like  Him  to  send 
a  message  like  that,  and  although  covered  with 
confusion  I  am  going  to  Him.  Yes  Peter!  Go 
direct  to  Jesus!  As  soon  as  He  saw  him,  the 
Lord  saw  that  Peter  was  a  changed  man.  Three 
times  He  asked  him  the  same  question,  "Simon 
Peter,  son  of  Jonas,  lovest  thou  me?"  Peter  con- 
fessed his  love,  and  in  reply  to  the  question  asked 
for  the  third  time  said,  "Lord,  Thou  knowest 
all  things;  thou  knowest  that  I  love  thee."  If 
we  have  sinned,  let  us  with  Peter  return  unto  the 
Lord.  He  is  waiting  to  forgive  us,  and  will  re- 
member our  sins  against  Him  no  more.  He  wants 
every  one  of  us  to  help  in  the  extension  of  His 
kingdom. 

This  time  we  leave  Peter  in  a  prayer  meeting. 
He  is  in  the  right  place  and  if  we  are  going  to 
be  of  use  to  our  Master,  we  cannot  do  better 
than  to  join  him.  Let  us  now  briefly  look  at 
Peter's  wonderful  career  after  Pentecost.  Peter 
is  one  of  those  who  has  been  told  to  wait  for  the 
promise  of  the  Father.     "And  when  the  day  of 


A  Recall,  or  the  Man  Who  Came  Back    131 

Pentecost  was  fully  come,  they  were  all  with  one 
accord  in  one  place.  And  suddenly  there  came 
a  sound  from  heaven,  as  of  a  rushing  mighty 
wind,  and  it  filled  all  the  house  where  they  were 
sitting.  And  there  appeared  unto  them  cloven 
tongues,  like  as  of  fire,  and  it  sat  upon  each  of 
them :  and  they  were  all  filled  with  the  Holy 
Ghost,  and  began  to  speak  with  other  tongues,  as 
the  spirit  gave  them  utterance."  A  remarkable 
change  has  been  wrought  in  Peter.  He  has  been 
transformed  by  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 
He  is  now  fully  instructed;  fully  equipped  for 
service  and  to  work  he  goes  with  a  will. 

Spirit-filled  Christians  could  not  hide  in  ob- 
scurity. They  came  forth,  and  were  soon  the 
centre  of  attraction.  As  they  proclaimed  the 
gospel  message,  the  people  were  amazed  and 
marvelled,  saying  one  to  another,  "What  meaneth 
this?"  "Others  mocking  said,  'These  men  are 
full  of  new  wine.'  "  New  wine  has  been  responsi- 
ble for  a  great  many  demonstrations,  but  these 
men  are  intoxicated  with  the  wine  of  God.  Peter 
began  to  preach.  To  his  wondering  audience  he 
said,  "These  men  are  not  filled  with  wine  as  ye 
suppose,  seeing  it  is  but  the  third  hour  of  the  day. 
But  this  is  that  which  was  spoken  by  the  prophet 
Joel:  'And  it  shall  come  to  pass  in  the  last  days, 
saith  God,  I  will  pour  out  of  My  Spirit  upon  all 
flesh:  and  your  sons  and  your  daughters  shall 
prophesy,  and  your  young  men  shall  see  visions, 
and  your  old  men  shall  dream  dreams.'  "     Peter 


132  Soul  Crises 

preached  a  sermon  such  as  the  people  had  never 
heard.  He  charged  them  with  the  death  of  the 
Son  of  God,  and  told  how  God  had  raised  Him 
up  to  be  both  Lord  and  Christ.  He  preached 
with  such  power  that  his  hearers  were  pricked  in 
their  hearts  and  cried  out  to  Peter,  and  the  rest 
of  the  apostles,  "Men  and  brethren  what  shall 
we  do?"  As  a  result  of  that  sermon  about  three 
thousand  people  believed,  but  this  was  only  the 
beginning  of  Peter's  wonderful  career. 

Now  he  naturally  became  a  recognized  leader 
in  the  Christian  church.  He  proved  himself  to 
be  both  courageous  and  courteous.  To  him  fell 
that  honour  of  opening  a  door  to  the  Gentiles. 
To  him  we  are  greatly  indebted  for  the  gospel  ac- 
cording to  St.  Mark,  he  wrote  two  epistles,  and 
eventually  died  as  a  martyr. 

Peter's  career  is  most  encouraging  to  those 
who  realize  they  have  failed,  and  who  are  de- 
termined to  come  back.  Thank  God  for  the  re- 
claimed Peters !  O  you  Peters !  what  powers 
are  slumbering  in  your  nature !  What  glory  yet 
awaits  you  I  Come  back!  Christ  is  calling  for 
you.  Seek  His  face,  seek  the  fulness  of  the  spirit, 
wait  upon  God  until  you  too  are  baptized  with 
the  Holy  Ghost. 

And  what  shall  I  say  more?  Are  we  not  all 
Peters?  And  the  tragedy  of  our  Christian  ex- 
perience is  that  we  not  only  have  denied  our 
Lord,  but  in  too  many  instances  we  are  living  on 
the  wrong  side  of  Pentecost.     "Have  ye  received 


A  Recall,  or  the  Man  Who  Came  Back    133 

the  Holy  Ghost  since  ye  believed?"  May  our 
Father  in  heaven  baptize  us  now  and  send  us 
forth,  like  Peter,  to  see  "signs  and  wonders 
wrought  in  the  name  of  Jesus." 


CHAPTER  X 

CHRISTIAN  ATHLETES 

They  that  ivait  upon  the  Lord  shall  reneiv  their  strength; 
they  shall  mount  up  ivith  ivings  as  eagles;  they  shall  run  and 
not  be  iveaty,  and  they  shall  ivalk,  and  not  faint. — Is.  XL,  31. 

^T^HIS  is  one  of  the  many  passages  contain- 
-■-  Ing  such  a  wealth  of  suggestion  that  one  is 
at  a  loss  which  line  to  follow.  When  we  look 
into  the  heart  of  this  verse  we  see  strength  and 
wings,  also  the  promise  of  walking,  or  even  run- 
ning without  faintness  or  fatigue.  It  provokes 
thought  along  so  many  avenues  that  I  have  de- 
cided to  take  you  along  one  known  to  the  athlete. 
Strength  and  wings,  energy  and  endurance,  what- 
ever else  they  suggest,  they  are  indispensable  to 
every  would-be  athlete.  There  are  very  few 
healthy  people  who  do  not  admire  the  athlete. 
He  is  so  strong,  his  body  is  so  well-proportioned, 
his  muscles  are  so  well-developed,  and  he  is  so 
clever  as  to  captivate  the  eye  and  win  the  ap- 
plause of  all  who  hope  to  win  their  laurels.  The 
grace  and  ease  with  which  the  scratch  man  wins 
the  race  arouses  the  enthusiasm  of  one  and  all. 
Great  hopes  are  entertained,  and  extravagant  de- 
mands are  made  upon  a  favourite  athlete,  by  his 

134 


Christian  Athletes  135 

loyal  supporters.  Should  the  athletic  reputation 
of  the  town,  school,  or  college  be  at  stake,  they 
centre  their  hopes  in  him.  And  when  he  goes 
into  the  race,  he  goes  in  not  merely  for  exercise, 
or  to  trifle  with  the  reputation  of  his  school.  He 
goes  in  with  one  grim  determination,  and  that  is 
to  win.  When  the  race  has  been  won,  and  the 
threatened  reputation  saved,  all  the  students  are 
simply  delirious  with  delight.  He  is  the  hero  of 
the  occasion,  and  is  lionized  by  all  with  whom  he 
is  identified. 

But  sometimes  a  star  performer  miserably  fails 
to  justify  the  hopes  centred  in  him.  There  may 
be  various  reasons  for  this,  but  as  a  rule  there 
is  only  one.  A  wise  athlete  runs  no  unnecessary 
risks,  he  underestimates  himself  rather  than 
otherwise.  He  is  faithful  in  his  daily  exercises. 
He  studies  his  weak  points,  and  seeks  to  over- 
come them  by  diligent  practice.  On  the  day  of 
the  race  he  is  cool  and  collected.  His  previous 
faithfulness  is  a  guarantee  of  his  being  in  good 
form.  But  while  some  men  at  the  beginning  of 
their  career  underestimate  themselves,  after  a 
few  easy  wins  the  majority  develop  an  unwar- 
ranted confidence.  Samson-like  they  abuse  their 
strength,  and  vainly  argue  that  what  they  have 
done  before,  they  can  do  again.  They  wist  not 
that  their  strength  is  departed.  It  is  a  humiliat- 
ing moment  when  a  popular  favourite  becomes 
conscious  that  he  has  more  than  met  his  match, 
and  as  a  result  of  his  own  folly  is  being  outdis- 


136  Soul  Crises 

tanced  in  the  race  by  a  much  Inferior  competitor. 
The  excuses  of  loyal  supporters  only  intensify 
the  remorse  of  the  man  who  is  painfully  aware 
that  he  is  now  a  good  "has-been,"  and  that  be- 
cause of  his  own  neglect. 

This  Is  a  parable  of  the  Children  of  Israel  at 
the  time  of  this  prophecy.  As  a  people  they  en- 
joyed the  distinction  of  having  been  divinely  or- 
dained a  nation.  By  signal  acts  God  had  identi- 
fied Himself  with  His  people.  They  had  a  unique 
history.  They  had  won  many  laurels  as  the 
chosen  athletes  of  God.  Their  uncompromising 
fidelity  to  truth  and  righteousness  had  given  them 
prestige.  God  had  put  the  fear  of  them  into  the 
hearts  of  all  possible  rivals.  They  enjoyed  many 
exceeding  great  and  precious  promises.  God  had 
intimated  that  His  athletes  were  to  run  to  some 
purpose.  "One  would  chase  a  thousand,  and  two 
would  put  ten  thousand  to  flight."  In  their  best 
days  they  figured  in  many  thrilling  events.  As 
spiritual  athletes  they  had  broken  the  religious 
record.  And  brilliant  as  had  been  the  achieve- 
ments of  the  past,  greater  glories  yet  awaited 
them.  But  alas !  They  became  careless  and  in- 
different. They  gradually  neglected  the  steady 
practice  of  righteousness,  and  withal,  regarded 
all  possible  rivals  with  haughty  contempt.  Amid 
present  prosperity,  they  forgot  their  Trainer,  and 
distinguished  athletes  became  more  of  a  memory 
than  a  reality.  They  were  guilty  of  the  common 
sin   of   presuming  on  their  past.      Consequently 


Christian  Athletes  137 

they  went  down  to  defeat  and  shame 

The  prophecy  beginning  with  the  fortieth  chap- 
ter of  Isaiah  was  delivered  to  Israelitish  captives 
in  a  strange  land.  They  had  miserably  disap- 
pointed the  high  hopes  entertained  of  them,  and 
as  they  sat  by  the  rivers  of  Babylon,  they  were 
painfully  conscious  that  they  were  good  ''has- 
beens."  Like  the  crestfallen  ex-champion  who 
has  suffered  defeat  through  folly,  they  hung  their 
harps  upon  the  willow  trees. 

But  granting  that  an  athlete  has  sinned  against 
himself  as  Israel  had  sinned  against  God,  if  he 
be  a  true  and  worthy  man  he  is  not  content  to 
drift  down  to  disgrace  and  ruin.  He  pulls  him- 
self together,  faces  the  situation  with  candour, 
forsakes  the  evils  which  contributed  to  his  defeat, 
and  determines  to  transform  present  defeat  into 
personal  conquest  and  future  glory.  Perhaps 
there  is  nothing  more  pathetic  and  inspiring  than 
to  see  a  man,  a  good  "has-been,"  trying  to  come 
back. 

Israel  in  exile  had  leisure  enough  to  think. 
They  thought  with  pain  of  their  past.  They  re- 
gretted their  folly  and  into  the  sphere  of  their 
servitude  came  a  man  who  reminded  them  of 
their  glorious  past,  he  also  told  them  if  they 
would  they  could  come  back.  They  looked  at 
him  with  eyes  which  had  gazed  into  the  abyss  of 
despair.  They  had  a  renowned  history,  but  their 
national  glory  was  gone.  They  were  not  equal 
to  the  demands  made  on  their  strength.    The  race 


138  Soul  Crises 

was  so  trying  that  even  their  youths  were  faint 
and  weary,  while  some  of  their  young  men  in 
endeavouring  to  gain  the  lead  had  fallen  in  their 
tracks.  To  those  who  once  ran  well,  the  prophet 
proclaimed  the  one  sure  method  by  which  they 
could  come  back,  and  gain  even  greater  distinc- 
tion than  they  had  enjoyed  in  the  past.  "They 
that  wait  upon  the  Lord  shall  renew  their 
strength;  they  shall  mount  up  with  wings  as 
eagles;  they  shall  run  and  not  be  weary,  and  they 
shall  walk  and  not  faint." 

If  we  are  at  all  acquainted  with  the  needs  of 
our  own  nature,  we  will  not  wish  to  tarry  just 
now  to  discuss  the  question  whether  there  was 
only  one  Isaiah  or  two.  We  will  appreciate  the 
significance  of  this  prophecy,  and  feel  deep  down 
in  our  hearts,  that  Israel's  history  is  our  own. 
We  will  not  discuss  the  question  of  how  or  when 
we  entered  the  contest.  Doubtless  we  all  entered 
for  the  Christian  race  full  of  vigour  and  en- 
thusiasm. We  were  determined  to  run  straight, 
we  were  indifferent  to  the  crowds,  we  had  our 
eyes  fixed  upon  the  Leader  and  Crowner  of  the 
race,  and,  although  we  are  loathe  to  confess  it, 
we  distinguished  ourselves  as  we  ran  in  the  way 
of  God's  commandments.  But,  sad  to  relate,  al- 
though we  kept  up  great  speed  for  a  while,  we 
gradually  slackened  our  pace,  and  were  guilty  of 
something  that  no  whole-hearted  athlete  is  guilty 
of,  we  turned  around  to  see  how  the  other  com- 
petitors were  progressing,  and  when  we  saw  so 


Christian  Athletes  139 

many  circumspect  people  walking  leisurely  be- 
hind, we  thought  we  had  been  going  too  fast. 
Having  taken  our  eye  off  the  magnetic  Leader, 
other  objects  began  to  attract  our  attention,  and 
we  lingered.  Since  then  instead  of  running 
straight  on,  we  have  been  running  across  the 
track,  inspecting  its  borders,  and  sometimes  won- 
dering if  it  would  not  be  easier  to  run  with  the 
multitude  to  do  evil.  We  have  got  tangled  up 
with  the  cares  of  this  present  world,  and  beyond 
an  occasional  sprint,  we  have  not  been  getting  up 
much  speed  lately.  The  race  has  been  teUing 
upon  us.  We  are  weak  and  languid  and  only  an 
imitation  of  our  former  selves.  We  have  been 
hopelessly  outdistanced  by  those  who  ran  straight 
on,  without  deviation  to  the  right  hand  or  to  the 
left.  To  tell  the  truth,  we  are  often  tempted  to 
give  up,  and  although  we  mean  to  keep  on,  we 
are  sadly  conscious  that  we  are  capable  of  a 
better  performance.  What  we  need  is  the  old 
incentive  that  we  had  at  the  beginning  of  our  ath- 
letic career  to  urge  us  forward.  We  will  find 
the  true  incentive  to  increased  speed  where  we 
left  it.  "They  that  wait  upon  the  Lord  shall  re- 
new their  strength;  they  shall  mount  up  with 
wings  as  eagles,  they  shall  run  and  not  be  weary, 
and  they  shall  walk  and  not  faint." 

I>et  us  note  carefully  the  instructions  given,  to 
see  the  requirements  and  possibilities  of  all  Chris- 
tian athletes.  Everything  hinges  upon  our  atti- 
tude.    Therefore  let  us  learn  what  our  attitude 


140  Soul  Crises 

should  be.  "They  that  wait  upon  the  Lord  shall 
renew  their  strength."  We  are  to  "wait  upon 
the  Lord."  We  all  know  what  it  means  to  wait. 
Have  we  not  occasionally  made  an  appointment 
with  a  certain  party,  to  meet  at  a  given  hour? 
We  have  gone  to  the  place  at  the  specified  time, 
but  the  other  party  has  not  yet  arrived.  After 
an  elapse  of  fifteen  minutes,  we  begin  to  get  rest- 
less, and  should  the  other  party  put  in  an  appear- 
ance an  hour  late  we  are  simply  furious,  that  is 
if  we  are  still  there.  But  the  full  meaning  of 
waiting  is  by  no  means  exhausted  by  the  method 
which  exhausts  our  patience.  An  athlete,  who  is 
expecting  to  compete  in  a  great  event,  is  not  likely 
to  be  standing  around  waiting  for  something  to 
turn  up.  Nor  should  idle  and  unprofitable  wait- 
ing have  any  part  in  the  program  of  those  who 
wish  to  excel  in  the  Christian  contest.  Let  us 
revise  our  notions  of  waiting.  It  is  possible  to 
wait  upon  a  person  while  he  is  engaged  in  con- 
versation with  us.  This  is  always  true  of  the 
Lord,  He  is  always  there  and  ready  to  be  en- 
quired of.  By  appointment  we  wait  upon  a 
lawyer  for  advice,  or  upon  a  doctor  for  medical 
attention.  At  a  given  time  the  athlete  waits  upon 
his  trainer,  to  receive  instruction  and  also  to  un- 
dergo strenuous  practice.  From  the  athlete  we 
may  learn  some  useful  lessons.  If  he  is  prepar- 
ing for  an  event  which  will  decide  the  champion- 
ship of  the  Dominion  he  is  faithful  and  diligent. 
He  takes  nothing  for  granted.    And  we  ought  at 


Christian  Athletes  141 

least  to  be  as  faithful  and  diligent  as  he:  for  we 
are  preparing  to  "adorn  the  doctrine  of  God  our 
Saviour  in  all  things."  To  do  this  effectively  our 
waiting  upon  God  will  need  to  be  freed  from  the 
haphazard  periods,  the  spasmodic  efforts  of  the 
past.  Faithfulness  is  more  to  be  desired  than 
genius.  Let  us  cultivate  the  fine  art  of  waiting. 
At  a  given  hour  every  day,  let  us  wait  upon  the 
Lord  in  prayer  and  meditation.  Waiting  upon 
the  Lord  is  not  enough  if  it  be  merely  formal. 
As  the  most  difficult  feats  of  the  athlete  are  per- 
formed in  private,  so  must  it  be  with  us.  We 
must  strive  to  realize  the  presence  of  God  and 
agonize  until  we  renew  our  strength. 

The  athlete  is  able  to  appear  to  advantage 
in  the  contest,  because  he  has  been  drilled  and 
tested  behind  the  scenes.  This  has  been  the  un- 
failing method  of  the  athletes  of  God.  During 
the  most  trying  and  eventful  periods  of  His 
earthly  ministry,  as  others  were  retiring  to  sleep, 
our  Lord  would  retire  to  a  mountain,  and  spend 
the  whole  night  in  prayer.  In  the  birth  pangs 
of  the  Reformation,  Luther  said  he  had  so  much 
to  do  that  he  could  never  begin  to  accomplish  it 
unless  he  spent  three  hours  a  day  in  prayer. 
Luther  waited  upon  the  Lord,  and  this  was  the 
secret  of  his  strength,  when  on  his  way  to  Worms, 
to  appear  before  the  Roman  Catholic  tribunal. 
His  timorous  friends  fearing  foul  play,  sought 
to  dissuade  him.  Luther  replied  to  the  effect, 
that  if  there  were  as  many  devils  as  there  were 


142  Soul  Crises 

tiles  on  the  housetops,  en  route,  he  would  defy 
them  all  to  go  and  answer  the  charges  brought 
against  him.  No  athlete  of  any  consequence  is 
always  exhibiting  his  powers.  He  may  practise 
three  months  for  one  race. 

The  most  difficult  lesson  we  have  to  learn  is  to 
wait.  The  trouble  with  too  many  of  us  is,  that 
we  are  always  on  parade.  Consequently  our  re- 
ligion, instead  of  being  rooted  and  grounded  in 
love,  by  patient  and  persistent  waiting  upon  God 
in  faith  and  prayer,  is  quite  superficial.  The  only 
claim  some  of  us  have  to  be  Christian  athletes 
is  a  form  of  godliness.  We  need  more  than  the 
form,  we  need  to  receive  such  a  steady  influx  of 
strength  from  God  that  we  always  may  be  as- 
sured of  victory.  Every  man,  who  has  done  any- 
thing worth  mentioning  in  the  world,  has  con- 
quered before  the  battle  was  fought,  has  won  the 
race  before  it  was  run,  and  if  we  are  to  dis- 
tinguish ourselves,  as  did  Enoch  and  David  and 
Paul,  we  must  cultivate  the  art  of  waiting  upon 
the  Lord.  Everything  depends  upon  our  attitude, 
for  only  those  who  wait  upon  the  Lord  renew 
their  strength. 

How  sensible  is  the  message  of  the  prophet! 
Those  who  have  a  surface  knowledge  of  religion 
tell  you  it  is  a  fragile  thing  and  its  confessors 
weak.  We  have  not  so  learned  Christ.  When 
the  great  evangelical  prophet  of  the  exile  came 
to  a  people  prostrated  by  weakness,  he  told  them 
how  they  could  receive  strength,  strength  to  run 


Christian  Athletes  143 

the  race  God  had  set  before  them.  Strength! 
Robust,  manly  strength  is  what  we  all  require. 
St.  Paul  says,  "Be  ye  strong  in  the  Lord  and  in 
the  power  of  His  might."  Martin  Luther  said, 
"God  wants  strong  men  and  He  cannot  do  with- 
out them." 

"They  that  wait  upon  the  Lord  shall  renew 
their  strength."  There  are  various  ways  in  which 
w^e  may  wait.  Our  waiting  may  be  in  some  quiet 
retreat  or  in  the  midst  of  our  daily  task.  Let  us 
cultivate  both  methods:  for  only  thus  will  our 
attitude  be  one  of  perpetual  waiting.  Let  nothing 
interfere  with  your  stated  periods  of  devotion. 
Take  time  to  meet  with  God  in  private,  but  do 
not  rest  content  with  these  occasional  interviews. 
It  is  your  privilege  to  wait  upon  God  by  medita- 
tion as  you  are  in  the  midst  of  your  affairs.  By 
all  means  cultivate  this  attitude  by  being  re- 
sponsive to  the  promptings  of  the  Holy  Spirit, 
and  you  will  rejoice  as  a  strong  man  to  run  a 
race. 

"They  that  wait  upon  the  Lord  shall  renew 
their  strength;  they  shall  mount  up  with  wings 
as  eagles."  Here  it  is  made  plain,  that  our  atti- 
tude determines  the  atmosphere  we  are  to  breathe. 
The  strong  wings  and  the  penetrating  eye  of 
the  eagle  suggest  the  calm,  clear,  bracing  atmos- 
phere in  which  we  are  to  move.  The  athlete  lives 
in  an  atmosphere  higher  than  the  rabble.  One 
of  the  first  impressions  we  receive  of  a  champion 
is  that  he  is  head  and  shoulders  above  his  fel- 


144  Sotd  Crises 

lows.  He  Is  In  a  class  far  above  many  of  his 
enthusiastic  supporters.  Even  though  he  might 
be  given  to  habits  of  indulgence  he  cheerfully  for- 
goes them,  to  give  himself  a  chance.  The  athletes 
of  God  move  in  a  higher  atmosphere  still.  They 
are  "in  the  world  but  not  of  it."  They  walk  in 
the  light  as  He  is  in  the  light.  Here  the  atmos- 
phere is  clear,  and  we  enjoy  fellowship  with  the 
Father  and  with  His  son  Jesus  Christ.  The  alti- 
tude may  be  high  but  it  is  safe.  It  is  a  boon  to 
be  up  here,  for  by  faith  we  can  see  the  hills  of 
God,  and  the  atmosphere  is  bracing.  Up  here 
in  the  clear,  calm,  bracing  atmosphere  of  faith 
and  prayer  we  can  see  the  "city  which  hath 
foundations,  whose  builder  and  maker  is  God." 
It  was  in  this  glorious  atmosphere  that  the  stal- 
wart athletes  of  old  lived  and  moved  and  had 
their  being.  "These  all  died  In  faith,  not  having 
received  the  promises,  but  having  seen  them  afar 
off,  and  were  persuaded  of  them,  and  embraced 
them,  and  confessed  that  they  were  strangers  and 
pilgrims  on  the  earth."  Oh,  you  who  are  sitting 
in  weariness,  down  In  the  valleys,  come  up  here 
and  fill  your  lungs  with  the  fresh  air  of  heaven. 
Those  of  us  who  are  even  slightly  acquainted 
with  the  hill  country  of  God,  say  with  Peter", 
"Lord,  it  is  good  for  us  to  be  here." 

Do  you  want  to  know  how  to  get  up?  "They 
that  wait  upon  the  Lord  shall  renew  their 
strength;  they  shall  mount  up  with  wings  as 
eagles;   they   shall   run   and  not  be   weary,   and 


Christian  Athletes  145 

walk  and  not  faint."  If,  as  we  have  seen,  our 
attitude  determines  the  atmosphere  we  breathe,  it 
also  determines  our  ability.  The  two  indispens- 
able elements  which  determine  the  career  of  an 
athlete  are  energy  and  endurance,  and  these  are 
promised  to  all  Christian  athletes. 

In  these  days  we  hear  a  great  deal  about  com- 
parative religion.  Certain  individuals,  in  their 
ignorance,  would  like  to  impress  upon  us  that  the 
older  religions  are  as  good  as  Christianity.  We 
joyfully  recognize  and  appreciate  all  the  good  in 
these  ancient  religions.  But  when  we  begin  to 
study  them  we  get  tired,  and  there  is  nothing  in 
the  dead  religions  of  the  past  to  arouse  us  from 
our  spiritual  inertia,  and  that  is  what  the  world 
out  of  Christ  is  dying  of  to-day.  The  secret  of 
the  Lord  is  with  them  that  fear  Him.  Christ  is 
not  a  dead  religious  thinker,  whose  memory  we 
revere.  He  is  a  living  Person,  who  in  resurrec- 
tion triumph,  is  teaching  us  how  to  distinguish 
ourselves  upon  the  Christian  course.  He  is  set- 
ting the  pace  for  us,  and  insists  that  we  follow 
His  steps.  Christianity  is  more  than  a  set  of 
rules,  it  is  a  life.  It  is  a  race  to  be  run,  a  con- 
quest to  be  achieved.  Of  ourselves  we  are  weak, 
in  our  own  strength  we  cannot  even  figure  in  the 
race,  but  the  strength  which  God  supplies  through 
His  eternal  Son  gives  us  energy  to  run  and  not 
be  weary.  As  Christian  athletes,  remember  the 
race  is  not  to  the  swift,  but  to  those  who  continue 
to  the  end. 


CHAPTER  XI 


A   MORAL   CRISIS 


Behold  this  dreamer  cometh. — Gen.  XXXVII,    19. 

THIS  was  an  expression  of  contempt.  It 
was  born  of  envy.  It  was  spoken  In  de- 
rision. It  was  meant  to  be  a  brand,  it  was  worn 
as  a  laurel.  It  gives  us  an  insight  into  the  char- 
acter of  Jacob's  sons.  They  were  hard-headed, 
matter-of-fact  men.  They  believed  in  wheat  and 
sheep,  but  they  had  no  use  for  dreams.  They 
had  all  breathed  the  same  atmosphere,  for  they 
were  all  the  sons  of  Jacob.  They  all  had  the 
benefit  of  his  training,  yet  they  were  as  opposite 
as  the  poles.  They  lived  in  one  world,  Joseph  in 
another.  ^'Behold  this  dreamer  cometh."  Their 
designation  of  Joseph  was  calculated  to  hold  him 
up  to  ridicule. 

It  is  ever  the  way  of  the  world.  When  we  dis- 
cover one  of  our  associates  taking  exception  to 
our  moral  discrepancies,  and  reminding  us  of  our 
moral  responsibilities,  we  christen  him  with  some 
absurd  name.  He  becomes  the  butt  of  our  jests, 
and  we  sharpen  our  wits  at  his  expense.  We  de- 
ride and  pity  him  as  we  see  him  setting  out  on 

146 


A  Moral  Crisis  147 

his  lonely  way.  Let  a  man  live  ever  so  little 
above  the  average,  or  act  ever  so  little  out  of 
the  ordinary,  and  he  is  labelled  a  dreamer  or  re- 
garded as  a  madman.  But  a  true  man,  no  matter 
how  much  he  is  exposed  to  rancour  and  abuse, 
will  survive  the  epithets  of  shame  and  transform 
the  stigma  into  a  badge  of  distinction. 

The  brethren  of  our  Lord,  instead  of  giving 
heed  to  His  message,  sought  to  lay  hold  of  Him 
saying,  "He  is  beside  Himself."  The  scribes  said, 
"He  hath  Beelzebub,  and  by  the  prince  of  the 
devils  casteth  He  out  devils."  The  Pharisees 
sought  to  cover  Him  with  ignomy  by  circulating 
the  report,  "He  is  the  friend  of  publicans  and 
sinners."  "He  receiveth  sinners  and  eateth  with 
them,"  is  the  distinctive  glory  of  our  blessed 
Lord.  On  more  occasions  than  one,  St.  Paul  was 
declared  to  be  mad.  To  this  charge  he  replied 
in  those  memorable  words,  "For  whether  we  be 
beside  ourselves  it  is  to  God,  or  whether  we  be 
sober  it  is  for  your  cause.  For  the  love  of  Christ 
constraineth  us."  The  name  which  we  bear  as  be- 
lievers and  which  we  associate  with  the  highest 
dignity  and  glory  was  first  given  as  a  nickname 
by  heathens.  "The  disciples  were  first  called 
Christians  at  Antioch." 

Although  Joseph's  brethren  spoke  disparag- 
ingly, they  designated  him  truly,  "Behold  this 
dreamer  cometh."  "Behold  this  dreamer  I"  He 
is  well  worth  looking  at.  The  name  with  which 
he  was  labelled  may  suggest  an  aimless,  shiftless 


148  Soul  Crises 

youth,  unpractical  and  unprogressive,  but  such  a 
conception  is  an  injustice  to  Joseph.  He  was  a 
combination  of  grace  and  power.  He  was  cheer- 
ful and  alert.  He  had  a  buoyancy  of  spirit  and 
a  tenacity  of  purpose  which  were  crowned  with  an 
indestructible  purity.  He  believed  he  had  a  part 
to  play  and  resolved  to  fulfil  his  destiny.  There- 
fore I  ask  you  to,  "Behold  this  dreamer,"  As 
we  try  to  analyze  his  character  we  find  him  to  be 
intensely  spiritual.  We  readily  think  of  a 
"master  of  dreams"  having  intercourse  with  the 
unseen.  The  dreamer  believes  that  "the  things 
which  are  seen  are  temporal,  but  the  things  which 
are  not  seen  are  eternal." 

At  a  glance  we  notice  the  contrast  between 
Joseph  and  his  brethren.  He  aspired  to  heights 
of  which  they  never  dreamed.  He  was  spiritual, 
they  were  carnal.  They  believed  in  God  in  a 
general  way,  but  they  had  no  place  in  their  creed 
for  the  miraculous.  Their  religious  privileges 
descended  as  a  kind  of  heirloom,  and  the  order 
was  as  fixed  as  fate.  According  to  their  notions, 
God  worked  along  the  lines  of  natural  selection, 
and  briefly  stated,  it  meant  that  the  eldest  son 
would  succeed  his  father  as  patriarch.  In  the 
divine  economy  the  first-born  always  has  been 
honoured,  but  the  first-born  have  not  always  ap- 
preciated the  honour.  Esau-like  they  have  de- 
spised their  birthright  and  from  the  natural  heir 
God  often  had  to  turn  to  seek  a  man  aft«r  His 
own  heart.     Whenever  God  has  interfered  with 


A  Moral  Crisis  149 

natural  selection  His  interference  has  been  amply 
vindicated. 

Natural  selection  is  very  pronounced  in  human 
nature.  Isaac  was  determined  to  bless  Esau  de- 
spite the  fact  that  God  had  said,  "The  elder  shall 
serve  the  younger."  When  Samuel  came  to 
anoint  the  future  king  of  Israel,  Jesse  naturally 
introduced  the  first-born;  and  so  sure  was  he  that 
this  time-honoured  custom  would  be  respected 
that  he  neglected  to  send  word  to  the  ruddy  lad 
who  was  out  in  the  field  tending  the  sheep.  There 
is  a  natural  selection  and  there  is  a  spiritual  selec- 
tion. The  eldest  son  naturally  succeeds  his 
father,  irrespective  of  his  moral  standing,  but 
when  God  chooses  a  man  to  do  a  great  work.  He 
does  not  consult  the  family  register.  He  consults 
the  human  heart.  God's  choice  of  Joseph  in- 
stead of  Reuben  has  never  been  challenged. 
Whatever  monopolies  flourish  in  the  world  there 
is  no  monopoly  of  virtue.  It  matters  not  whether 
we  are  the  first-born  or  the  second-born;  whether 
we  are  in  the  so-called  patriarchal  line,  or  the  so- 
called  apostolic  succession,  we  are  all  blessed  with 
a  capacity  for  God. 

The  difference  between  Joseph  and  his  breth- 
ren Is  not  to  be  explained  by  his  genius  and  their 
deficiency,  but  in  their  deliberate  choice.  Joseph 
turned  to  God  as  the  flower  turns  to  the  sun,  his 
brethren  turned  to  secular  interests  as  the  miser 
to  his  gold.    What  is  occupying  our  attention? 

It  Is  Imperative  for  us  to  realise  the  tremendous 


150  Soul  Crises 

issues  that  will  be  decided  by  our  youthful  deci- 
sion. One  thing  is  certain,  you  cannot  reject  and 
have.  Therefore,  beware  of  making  the  fatal 
mistake  of  throwing  overboard  the  three  graces, 
i.e.,  faith,  and  hope,  and  love. 

Joseph  lived  in  close  communion  with  God. 
God's  will  was  the  law  of  his  life.  He  knew 
right  from  wrong  and  he  adhered  steadily  to  the 
right  without  deviation  to  the  right  hand  or  the 
left.  The  charm  of  his  transparent  life  has  been 
an  inspiration  to  every  successive  lover  of  purity, 
and  home,  and  God. 

Another  outstanding  feature  in  Joseph's  char- 
acter was  his  patience.  We  can  appreciate 
what  kind  of  life  he  would  have  among  his 
brethren  after  he,  in  his  innocence,  had  told  them 
his  dreams.  We  can  hear  their  rude  laughter  at 
his  expense,  as  they  jeer  and  taunt  him  about  his 
dreams.  We  can  see  how  their  banter  turns  to 
hate  until  they  deliberately  contemplate  murder. 
We  cannot  imagine  Joseph's  ever  being  made 
much  of  by  his  rude  and  envious  brothers,  but  this 
we  can  gather  from  his  history,  he  was  patient. 
Patience  is  a  virtue  which  is  not  cultivated  in  a 
night.  It  is  of  slow  growth  and  only  blooms  in 
the  atmosphere  of  genial  submission  to  the  will 
of  God.  When  his  brethren  plagued  and  abused 
him,  Joseph  did  not  let  his  temper  run  away  with 
him  and  disgrace  himself  to  the  delight  of  his  tor- 
mentors. No !  He  felt  sorry  for  them  because 
they  had  no  more  sense.     He  knew  they  did  not 


A  Moral  Crisis  151 

believe  In  his  dreams,  but  he  believed  in  them,  and 
was  prepared  to  wait.  He  believed  in  himself; 
he  believed  in  God,  and  he  believed  in  the  future. 

He  was  blessed  with  a  cheerful  disposition. 
He  had  a  great  many  disagreeable  experiences, 
but  he  had  the  happy  art  of  seeing  God  in  his 
afflictions,  and  although  he  suffered  a  great  deal, 
he  never  murmured.  He  was  a  most  agreeable 
companion  whether  in  foreign  service  or  in  an 
Egyptian  dungeon.  "The  Lord  was  with  Jo- 
seph." This  observation  was  made  of  him  when 
he  was  in  prison. 

The  trouble  with  too  many  of  us  is  that  our 
religion  does  not  admit  of  an  occasional  rainy 
day,  or  of  a  storm;  we  insist  on  having  a  cloud- 
less sky.  When  the  clouds  gather  and  the  light- 
nings flash  we  begin  to  think  that  all  is  lost.  In- 
stead of  fretting,  let  us  be  submissive  and  patient, 
believing  that  our  Father  is  with  us  whether  we 
happen  to  be  thrown  into  the  prison  of  sorrow  or 
adversity.  Let  us  dare  to  believe,  not  merely 
that  some  things,  but  that  "all  things  work  to- 
gether for  good  to  them  that  love  God." 

Another  important  feature  in  the  character  of 
Joseph  was  his  industry.  He  was  a  serious  stu- 
dent. He  knew  the  history  of  his  people,  he  saw 
God  had  a  purpose  in  their  history,  and  the  more 
he  meditated  the  more  he  became  convinced  that 
God  had  a  purpose  in  his  life,  and  he  determined 
by  faithful  application  to  be  ready  for  all  His 
perfect  will.     Thus,  instead  of  being  an  indolent 


152  Soul  Crises 

star-gazer,  he  was  enterprising  and  aggressive. 
He  could  prepare  for  future  usefulness  only  by 
the  most  assiduous  application.  He  performed 
the  most  menial  task  with  as  much  thoroughness 
as  he  exhibited  later  in  his  Egyptian  administra- 
tion. When  his  father  sent  him  to  Shechem  to 
see  how  his  brothers  and  the  flocks  fared  he  went 
to  the  place.  They  were  nowhere  to  be  seen,  and 
had  he  been  of  a  careless,  indolent  disposition,  he 
would  have  returned  home  with  this  intelligence, 
much  to  the  annoyance  of  his  father.  But  such  a 
thought,  as  that  of  returning  before  he  had  dis- 
charged his  duty  faithfully,  never  crossed  his 
mind.  After  satisfying  himself  that  his  brethren 
had  left  Shechem,  he  wandered  about  in  the  hope 
of  finding  them,  until  he  met  a  man  who  casually 
had  overheard  them  say,  "Let  us  go  to  Dothan." 
So  to  Dothan  he  directed  his  steps  little  thinking 
how  fraught  with  destiny  his  humble  errand  was. 
As  he  drew  near,  his  brethren  said  one  to  an- 
other, "Behold,  this  dreamer  cometh." 

Behold  the  Advent  of  the  Dreamer!  It  is  an 
epoch-making  event  when  the  dreamer  appears 
above  the  horizon.  The  world  can  never  be 
the  same  again  after  the  dreamer  has  come. 
Time  would  fail  to  tell  of  a  tithe  of  the  immortal 
dreamers  that  have  lived  to  bless  the  world.  We 
will  have  to  be  content  with  noting  a  few  at 
random.  James  Watt  dreamed  of  the  possibil- 
ity of  utilizing  steam-power  and  his  dream  is 
the   abiding  miracle   of  the   commercial   world. 


A  Moral  Crisis  153 

George  Stephenson  dreamed  of  the  possibility 
of  travelling  by  a  faster  method  than  was  pos- 
sible with  a  coach  and  four.  Fulton,  the  in- 
ventor of  the  steamship,  dreamed  of  the  possibil- 
ity of  international  commerce  and  on  his  death- 
bed he  said,  "Bury  me  beside  the  waters  of  the 
Ohio;  that  I  may  hear  in  times  to  come  the  paddle 
wheels  of  the  ships  as  they  pass,  bearing  their 
commerce  from  land  to  land."  Can  the  world 
ever  be  the  same  again  after  the  advent  of  such 
dreamers  as  Robert  Burns?  Sir  Walter  Scott? 
Tennyson?  Wordsworth?  Longfellow?  Thack- 
eray? Dickens?  or  Shakespeare? 

"The  poem  hangs  on  the  berry  bush. 
Till  comes  the  poet's  eye. 
And  the  whole  street  is  a  masquerade, 
When  Shakespeare  passes  by." 

Sir  Humphry  Davy  dreamed  of  safety  lamps 
for  the  toiling  millions  in  the  mines.  Lord  Lister 
dreamed  of  painless  surgery,  and  Pierpont  Lang- 
ley  dreamed  of  the  conquest  of  the  air. 

These  dreams  have  come  true,  but  the  most 
daring  dream  of  all  was  dreamed  by  a  young  man 
in  Galilee.  He  dreamed  of  a  new  world,  wherein 
would  dwell  righteousness,  and  what  is  more,  His 
dream  is  coming  true.  To-day,  millions  of  the 
best  blood  of  every  land  are  prepared  to  die 
rather  than  deny  His  name.  What  are  you 
dreaming  about?     Are   you  dreaming  of  great 


154  Soul  Crises 

things  for  yourself?  Dream  them  not.  Are  you 
dreaming  of  what  you  can  do  for  your  fellows? 
Are  you  dreaming  of  the  Christian  conquest  of 
the  world?  Then  dream  on!  Believe  in  your 
dreams  I  Act  on  your  dreams!  They  are  com- 
ing true,  ''for  the  grace  of  God  that  bringeth  sal- 
vation hath  appeared  to  all  men,  teaching  us  that, 
denying  ungodliness  and  worldly  lusts,  we  should 
live  soberly,  righteously,  and  godly,  in  this  present 
world,  looking  for  that  blessed  hope,  and  the 
glorious  appearing  of  the  great  God  and  our 
Saviour  Jesus  Christ:  who  gave  Himself  for  us, 
that  He  might  redeem  us  from  all  Iniquity,  and 
purify  unto  Himself  a  peculiar  people,  zealous 
of  good  works." 

Behold  the  Reception  of  the  Dreamer!  Joseph's 
reception  by  his  brethren  is  one  of  the  many  crises 
every  man  of  worth  must  be  prepared  to  meet. 
The  story  of  what  they  deliberately  contemplated 
and  what  they  eventually  did  is  one  of  the  most 
heartrending  In  literature,  and  the  pity  Is,  it  is 
not  confined  to  literature,  it  is  enacted  In  everyday 
life.  You  say  you  are  not  appreciated,  your  good 
is  evil  spoken  of,  reflection  cast  on  your  purest 
motives,  your  Ideals  laughed  to  scorn !  You  are 
not  alone.  A  similar  experience  to  yours  has  been 
the  lot  of  every  noble  soul  that  has  trod  the 
highway  of  God.  Think  it  not  strange  if  you  are 
persistently  misunderstood  and  misrepresented. 
Make  sure  that  your  dreams  merit  the  approval 
of  God  and  of  time.    Be  content  to  live  as  a  hero 


A  Moral  Crisis  155 

and  die  as  a  martyr  in  a  worthy  cause.  The 
eternal  decree  has  gone  forth:  "No  cross,  no 
crown."  The  path  of  duty  may  lead  you  to  the 
pit;  to  servitude,  and  the  dungeon,  but  beyond 
these  lies  a  blissful  immortality.  Galileo,  the 
astronomer,  who  made  one  of  the  greatest  dis- 
coveries ever  made  by  man,  was  condemned  to 
banishment,  and  his  books  burned.  Socrates  was 
poisoned  for  no  worse  sin  than  that  of  living  in 
advance  of  his  age.  The  Lord  Christ  was  be- 
trayed and  crucified.  Many  more  of  whom  the 
world  was  not  worthy  have  shared  a  similar  fate, 
and  still  the  work  of  rejection  and  crucifixion  goes 
on.  If  you  are  going  to  wait  until  you  are  fully 
appreciated  you  will  accomplish  nothing  and  die 
"unwept,  unhonoured  and  unsung." 

Behold  the  Conduct  of  the  Dreamer!  Joseph's 
conduct  will  bear  the  most  searching  examination. 
His  behaviour  in  his  first  and  unexpected  trial 
was  prophetic  of  one  of  the  greatest  moral  con- 
quests ever  achieved  by  man.  With  what  un- 
erring precision  one  thing  leads  to  and  depends 
upon  another  in  the  moral  world.  To  this  youth 
of  seventeen  years,  life  had  assumed  a  great  seri- 
ousness, hence  he  was  never  taken  at  a  disad- 
vantage. Had  Joseph  been  unable  to  govern  his 
temper  at  seventeen  he  would  have  been  unable 
to  govern  his  passions  in  the  great  crisis  of  his 
life.  But  instead  of  displaying  hatred  and  pour- 
ing forth  a  volume  of  abuse  upon  his  brethren 
for  their  outrageous   treatment  of  him,   he   im- 


156  Soul  Crises 

plored  them  with  cries  and  tears  to  consider  the 
nature  of  their  deed,  but  all  to  no  avail  I  "They 
sat  down  to  eat  and  drink  but  were  not  grieved 
for  the  affliction  of  Joseph."  The  cold-blooded 
act  of  his  brethren  in  bargaining  with  the  Midi- 
anites  and  selling  Joseph  into  Egyptian  slavery  is 
only  equalled  by  the  deed  of  one,  whose  "name 
is  a  byword  to  the  human  race,"  and  who  sold 
his  Master  for  thirty  pieces  of  silver. 

But  although  Joseph's  body  became  the  prop- 
erty of  a  slave-owner,  his  soul  was  free.  He 
recognized  that  he  was  still  the  captain  of  his 
soul,  and  instead  of  giving  way  to  fits  of  de- 
pression he  saw  that  he  was  being  dehberately 
taken  along  a  hard  road.  He  believed  that  his 
God  was  the  God  of  Egypt  as  well  as  the  God 
of  his  fathers,  that  His  control  was  absolute,  that 
His  all-seeing  eye  was  upon  him,  and  he  took 
courage.  He  made  the  best  of  his  adverse  cir- 
cumstances and  when  he  became  the  property  of 
the  captain  of  Pharaoh's  guard  he  acquitted  him- 
self with  such  credit,  his  character  was  so  noble 
and  his  conduct  so  admirable,  that  Potipher  saw 
that  the  Lord  was  with  him,  and  "made  him  over- 
seer over  his  house,  and  all  that  he  had  he  put 
into  his  hand." 

It  was  while  engaged  as  an  overseer  that 
Joseph  was  called  upon  to  face  the  most  fearful 
temptation  of  his  life.  Potipher's  wife,  capti- 
vated by  the  charm  of  his  personality,  became  his 
temptress.     From  day  to  day  she  spake  to  Joseph 


A  Moral  Crisis  157 

tempting  him  and  had  it  not  been  for  his  habits 
of  industry  and  piety,  his  practice  of  the  presence 
of  God  in  his  daily  life,  he  would  have  gone  down 
into  defeat  and  oblivion.  But  his  faith  saved  him. 
His  faith  gave  him  a  high  sense  of  honour  and  a 
worthy  fear  of  God.  He  was  true  to  himself, 
and  even  though  it  meant  being  branded  with 
shame,  and  cast  into  prison,  he  could  not  be  un- 
true to  himself,  he  could  not  be  untrue  to  his 
master,  and,  moreover,  he  could  not  be  untrue 
to  his  God.  "How  can  I  do  this  great  wicked- 
ness, and  sin  against  God?"  If  Joseph's  behaviour 
was  commendable  in  his  first  trial,  his  behaviour 
in  the  great  moral  crisis  of  his  life  was  admir- 
able. His  faith  had  given  him  great  convictions 
and  his  convictions  determined  his  conduct.  Need- 
less to  remark  his  conduct  on  that  momentous  oc- 
casion decided  his  destiny.  By  circumstantial  evi- 
dence he  was  condemned  to  imprisonment;  but 
his  innocence  was  attested  by  God,  by  his  own 
conscience,  and  by  time.  He  might  have  cleared 
himself  of  this  criminal  charge,  but  a  word  from 
him  would  dishonour  his  master,  so  he  preferred 
to  suffer  in  silence,  and  leave  himself  and  his  fu- 
ture in  God's  hands. 

His  conduct  in  prison  won  the  approval  of  all 
within  its  walls,  but  his  treatment  of  his  brethren, 
his  bestowal  of  generous  measures  of  mercy,  in- 
stead of  seeking  revenge  is  beyond  all  praise. 

Therefore,  Behold  the  Conquests  of  this 
Dreamer!     They  are  many  and  we  can  indicate 


158  Soul  Crises 

only  a  few.  Behold  the  conquests  of  this 
dreamer  In  the  commercial  realm.  He  knows 
every  grade  of  wheat  and  he  appreciates  the 
value  of  the  flocks.  Had  it  not  been  for  this 
dreamer  who  acted  with  such  discretion  during 
the  seven  years  of  plenty,  man  would  have  starved 
and  the  flocks  perished  during  the  seven  years  of 
famine.  We  need  dreamers  In  the  commercial 
realm  to-day,  men  who  by  their  ability  will  prove 
their  fitness  to  be  commercial  leaders  and  who  by 
their  uncompromising  Integrity  will  redeem  mod- 
ern business  life  from  all  suspicion,  and  conduct 
It  along  such  lines  that  every  honest  business  man 
will  be  proud  of  his  calling. 

Behold  the  conquests  of  this  dreamer  In  the 
moral  realm.  At  last  Joseph's  dreams  come  true. 
He  has  been  raised  to  the  high  eminence  of  Prime 
Minister  of  Egypt.  He  has  saved  the  situation 
for  that  great  empire;  and  one  day  a  procession 
of  ten  men  appears.  They  have  come  to  buy  corn. 
Joseph  recognizes  them;  tries  them,  reveals  him- 
self to  them,  forgives  them,  and  Invites  them  to 
come  and  dwell  in  the  land  of  Goshen. 

The  meeting  of  Joseph  and  his  brethren,  after 
twenty  years.  Is  full  of  pathos.  These  rough  men 
have  learned  many  things  In  the  meantime,  and 
gladly  prostrate  themselves  before  their  brother. 
His  generous  treatment  of  them  reminds  us  of 
One  who,  when  He  was  reviled,  reviled  not  again; 
and  who,  on  a  hill  called  Calvary  prayed  for  His 
murderers,  "Father  forgive  them  for  they  know 


A  Moral  Crisis  159 

not  what  they  do." 

Behold  the  conquests  of  this  dreamer  in  the 
spiritual  realm.  Although  exalted  by  Pharaoh 
and  crowned  with  every  symbol  of  authority,  he 
recognized  it  was  the  Lord.  To  his  brethren  he 
confessed,  it  was  the  Lord.  And  while  his 
achievements  were  great  and  enduring,  the  most 
enduring  monument  of  all  is  himself.  He  stands 
before  us  as  a  worthy  type  of  our  Lord  and 
Saviour  Jesus  Christ. 


CHAPTER  XII 

A  DOMESTIC  CRISIS 

At  even  my  ivife  died:  and  I  did  in  the  morning  as  I  was 
commanded. — Ezek.  XXIV,  i8. 

THESE  words  are  startling  in  their  signifi- 
cance. They  bring  us  face  to  face  with  one 
of  the  most  harrowing  experiences  of  domestic 
life.  We  see  a  man  in  the  midst  of  a  great  sor- 
row. The  hand  of  the  Lord  has  been  heavy  upon 
him.  His  wife  has  been  taken  away  by  a  sudden 
stroke.  In  graphic  language  he  narrates  his  ex- 
perience. ''In  the  evening  my  wife  died."  It 
is  always  evening  when  a  good  woman  dies.  We 
have  a  custom  of  drawing  the  curtains  when  death 
visits  our  homes.  I  do  not  know  what  led  to  the 
introduction  of  this  custom  unless  it  was  that 
the  chamber  of  death  might  appear  to  be  more 
in  harmony  with  the  soul  of  the  bereaved.  There 
he  stands  in  the  gathering  gloom :  a  man  who  has 
been  bereft  of  "the  delight  of  his  eyes."  Impul- 
sively we  sympathize  with  him.  Nothing  crushes 
a  man's  spirit  so  entirely  as  a  great  domestic 
tragedy.  This  man  has  lost  his  wife.  Death  has 
entered  the  inner  sanctuary  of  life  and  robbed  him 

1 60 


A  Domestic  Crisis  i6i 

of  his  most  valuable  domestic  asset.  The  bond 
which  bound  "this  man  and  this  woman"  together, 
at  the  altar,  has  been  severed.  Half  stunned  with 
grief,  and,  let  us  hope,  through  the  salvation  of 
blinding  tears,  he  looks  upon  the  mortal  remains 
of  her  who,  to  him,  was  dearer  than  life.  He  is 
alone,  and  the  power  of  the  night  chills  his  spirit. 
We  have  no  words  but  those  of  kindly  considera- 
tion and  pity  for  the  man  who  is  crushed  and 
broken  by  such  a  desolating  experience. 

But  as  we  gaze  upon  this  sorrowful  scene  we 
are  impressed  by  something  unusual.  This  man 
has  triumphed  over  his  sorrow;  or  at  least  he 
bears  himself  so  bravely,  in  his  domestic  crisis, 
that  we  wish  to  become  more  fully  acquainted 
with  him.  "In  the  evening  my  wife  died:  and 
in  the  morning  I  did  as  I  was  commanded."  Who 
was  this  remarkable  man?  Ezekiel,  the  prophet. 
As  a  prophet,  Ezekiel  has  not  yet  come  to  his 
own.  The  majority  of  Bible  students  have  not 
cultivated  his  acquaintance.  His  method  of  pro- 
phetic utterance  is  somewhat  exacting,  so  instead 
of  facing  his  wonderful  array  of  images,  com- 
parisons, allegories,  parables,  personifications  and 
descriptions,  we  have  regarded  him  with  some- 
thing akin  to  indifference.  It  has  been  argued 
that  in  Ezekiel  there  are  many  things  hard  to 
understand.  Perhaps  so,  but  whatever  may  be 
said  in  favour  of  such  an  argument,  there  is  one 
thing  we  can  understand.  It  is  the  great  sorrow 
which  came  upon  him  like  a  bolt  from  the  blue. 


1 62  Soul  Crises 

"In  the  evening  my  wife  died:  and  in  the  morning 
I  did  as  I  was  commanded." 

Ezekiel  lived  during  the  decline  and  fall  of 
Israel  as  a  nation.  The  clouds  of  doom  were 
moving  across  the  horizon  when  he  was  born. 
His  father's  name  was  Buzi.  Of  his  youth  and 
education  we  know  nothing  beyond  what  is  im- 
plied in  his  prophecies,  that  he  was  naturally  en- 
dowed with  great  intellectual  strength,  and  had 
received  more  than  an  ordinary  education. 
Presumably  he  belonged  to  the  upper  ranks  of 
the  priesthood,  who  formed  part  of  the  aristoc- 
racy of  Jerusalem.  His  intimate  knowledge  of 
the  details  of  the  temple  service  gives  one  the 
impression  that  he  must  have  been  an  officiating 
priest  in  the  national  sanctuary.  He  was  con- 
temporary with  Jeremiah,  the  weeping  prophet, 
and  with  Daniel,  the  beloved.  He  is  known  to 
us  as  a  prophet  of  the  Exile.  He,  with  many 
others  of  the  cream  of  Jewish  society,  was  car- 
ried away  from  his  native  land  in  the  second  de- 
portation adopted  by  Nebuchadnezzar. 

The  colony  in  which  Ezekiel  settled  was  in  the 
northern  part  of  Mesopotamia,  on  the  banks  of 
the  Chebar.  The  Chebar,  if  not  the  name  of  an 
arm  of  the  Euphrates  itself,  was  probably  one 
of  the  numerous  irrigating  canals  which  inter- 
sected the  great  alluvial  plain  of  the  Euphrates 
and  Tigris.  In  this  settlement  the  prophet  had 
his  own  house  where  the  people  were  free  to  visit 
him.     It  was  on  the  banks  of  the  Chebar  that 


A  Domestic  Crisis  163 

God's  message  came  to  Ezekiel  calling  him  to  the 
ministry  of  a  prophet.  The  call  came  to  him  in 
the  fifth  year  of  Jehoiachin's  captivity.  With  the 
simplicity  of  a  child  and  the  earnestness  of  a  man, 
he  did  what  he  was  bidden.^  His  readiness  to 
comply  with  the  divine  will  at  any  cost  is  seen  in 
the  words  of  our  text,  "In  the  evening  my  wife 
died:  and  in  the  morning  I  did  as  I  was  com- 
manded." 

Ezekiel  stands  before  us  as  a  man  who  loved, 
as  a  man  who  suffered,  and  as  a  man  who  served. 
He  was  a  man  who  loved.  What  was  the  object 
of  his  love?  One  thing  is  very  evident,  he  loved 
his  nation.  Ezekiel  was  a  patriot  of  the  worthiest 
kind.  His  acceptance  of  the  prophetic  office 
proves  that  he  loved  his  nation.  He  had  his  na- 
tion's highest  interests  at  heart.  He  had  a  great 
regard  for  civic  righteousness.  He  loved  the 
society  into  which  he  had  been  thrown  by  de- 
portation. His  fellow-exiles  felt  that  in  him  they 
had  a  friend.  His  regard  for  them  is  seen  in  his 
having  an  open  door  for  all  and  sundry.  But 
while  he  had  a  great  regard  for  his  nation  and  a 
general  love  for  his  friends  in  Chebar,  he  had  a 
particular  love  for  one  woman.  The  object  of 
Ezekiel's  love  was  his  wife.  This  fact  gives  real- 
ity to  the  sorrow  he  relates.  If  little  is  known 
about  Ezekiel's  personal  history,  still  less  is  known 
regarding  his  wife.  However,  we  are  informed 
that  she  died  suddenly.     We  do  not  know  her 

^  The  Expositors'  Bible. 


164  Soul  Crises 

name  and  nothing  is  recorded  of  her  family  his- 
tory. But  this  we  do  know:  she  was  greatly  be- 
loved by  her  husband.  She  Is  spoken  of  as  "the 
delight  of  his  eyes."  From  this  we  reasonably 
may  Infer  that  she  was  a  good  woman.  Like 
draws  to  like.  Considering  the  character  of  the 
prophet,  only  a  good  woman  would  be  able  to 
gain  his  affections  and  command  his  respect.  The 
maidens  of  Israel  were  young  women  of  sterling 
piety.  Consequently  the  mothers  In  Israel  have 
Impressed  the  world.  The  one  reference  which 
has  come  down  to  us  respecting  Ezeklel's  wife  en- 
ables us  to  see  that  he  was  very  happy  In  his  mar- 
riage. His  home  life  was  all  that  could  be 
desired.    He  loved! 

This  Is  an  experience  so  common  that  we  are 
apt  to  regard  It  with  Indifference.  But  although 
such  a  frequent  occurrence,  It  comes  like  the  dawn- 
ing of  a  new  day  to  every  Individual  lover.  He 
becomes  a  veritable  Columbus;  he  discovers  a  new 
world,  a  world  which  makes  the  discovery  of  a 
continent  a  prosaic  affair.  All  the  world  loves  a 
lover!  Jacob  has  an  abiding  place  In  our  affec- 
tions because  he  loved.  He  hesitated  not  to  serve 
fourteen  years  to  gain  the  object  of  his  affections. 
Jonathan  never  wore  the  crown  of  Israel,  but 
his  love  for  David  has  given  him  a  crown  that 
fadeth  not  away.  Robert  Burns  achieved  immor- 
tality because  he  loved.  He  loved  nature  and 
he  loved  men.  His  lament  for  Highland  Mary 
never  fails  to  strike  a  responsive  chord: 


A  Domestic  Crisis  165 

"Ye'll  break  my  heart,  ye  warbling  bird, 
That  warbles  on  the  flowVy  thorn, 
Ye  mind  me  o'  departed  joys, 
Departed  never  to  return." 

That  Thomas  Carlyle  was  a  lover  of  litera- 
ture none  will  deny,  but  he  appears  in  no  more 
favourable  light  than  when  we  see  him  wending 
his  way  so  frequently  to  visit  his  deceased  wife's 
grave. 

What  Is  the  object  of  our  love?  Is  it  national, 
social,  or  individual?  Are  we  fired  by  great  pa- 
triotic sentiments?  Have  we  a  consuming  ambi- 
tion to  affect  great  moral  and  social  reforms?  Or 
is  it  your  desire  to  be  used  of  God?  To  lead  men 
to  Christ  one  by  one?  Whether  we  wish  to  be 
recognized  as  patriots,  as  social  reformers  or 
evangelists  there  is  one  essential  preHminary.  Be- 
fore our  love  can  be  a  social  force  it  must  be 
kindled  by  our  regard  for  a  particular  individual. 
Next  to  the  love  he  bore  to  his  Creator  and  Re- 
deemer, Ezekiel  could  not  have  bestowed  his  af- 
fections on  a  more  worthy  object. 

"Without  faith  it  is  impossible  to  please  God." 
Without  love  It  is  impossible  to  achieve  anything 
of  worth.  Bring  me  a  boy  who  is  in  love  with 
his  school  work,  who  is  busy  with  his  books  when 
he  might  be  at  play,  and  I  will  show  you  a  coming 
scholar  or  a  future  statesman.  Bring  me  the  boy 
who  studies  his  Bible  and  his  geography  together 
and  I  will  show  you  a  future  Livingstone.     Every 


1 66  Soul  Crises 

man  of  worth  Is  deeply  in  love.  He  must  needs 
love  the  work  in  which  he  is  engaged  if  he  would 
command  success.  A  man  cannot  preach  a  good 
sermon  without  being  in  love.  The  greater  his 
love  for  his  Lord,  the  greater  his  love  for  the 
Lord's  people,  the  better  will  he  preach.  The 
greatest  saints  have  been  the  greatest  lovers.  And 
one  thing  is  very  patent  in  the  New  Testament.  It 
is  this :  You  cannot  have  salvation  unless  you  fall 
in  love.  To  Peter  the  Apostle,  Jesus  said  not, 
"Canst  thou  preach?"  not,  "Canst  thou  organize," 
but,  "Lovest  thou  Me?"  Love  is  the  fundamental 
requirement.  John  was  a  great  lover.  He  also 
leaned  on  Jesus'  bosom.  Therefore  he  saw  most 
clearly  into  the  divine  heart.  Judas  ceased  to  love, 
and  after  perpetrating  the  most  diabolical  deed  on 
record  he  went  "to  his  own  place" — a  place  where 
there  is  no  love. 

Before  passing  from  this  part  of  our  subject 
observe  the  source  of  Ezekiel's  love.  When  we 
see  a  mighty  river  rushing  on  to  the  ocean,  we 
know  it  has  a  source.  When  we  see  an  all-con- 
trolling current  in  a  man's  nature,  we  rightly  con- 
sider that  it  has  a  source.  It  needs  no  student  of 
philosophy  to  discern  two  kinds  of  love.  One  is 
selfish,  the  other  is  unselfish.  There  is  a  "love 
of  the  world,"  and  there  is  the  "love  of  God." 
One  Is  an  animal  passion;  the  other  is  a  Christian 
grace.  Behind  Ezekiel's  love  for  the  gentle  crea- 
ture who  was  "the  delight  of  his  eyes,"  behind  his 
love  for  Zion,  behind  his  love  for  his  fellow  exiles, 


A  Domestic  Crisis  167 

there  was  the  love  of  God.  His  love  emanated 
from  God.  It  was  the  mighty  and  merciful  Je- 
hovah who  gave  Ezekiel  such  a  strong,  clean, 
wholesome  regard  for  his  people,  and  such  a 
tender  regard  for  his  wife. 

We  joyfully  confess  that  we  love  God,  but  have 
we  ever  grasped  the  significance  of  its  source? 
Our  love  has  its  source  in  the  great  and  gracious 
heart  of  the  Eternal.  "For  God  so  loved  the 
world  that  He  gave  His  only  begotten  son  that 
whosoever  believeth  in  Him  should  not  perish  but 
have  everlasting  life."  There  is  one  hymn,  among 
others,  which  has  simply  captivated  us.  It  pro- 
claims a  thrilling  fact,  and  so  we  delight  to  sing, 

"Jesus,  lover  of  my  soul, 
Let  me  to  Thy  bosom  fly." 

"We  love  Him  because  He  first  loved  us,  and 
gave  Himself  for  us." 

Ezekiel  was  a  man  who  loved.  He  was  also 
a  man  who  suffered.  "In  the  evening  my  wife 
died:  and  in  the  morning  I  did  as  I  was  com- 
manded." Consider  the  nature  of  his  sufferings. 
We  are  not  in  a  position  to  say  by  what  disease 
Ezekiel's  wife  was  carried  away.  Doubtless  it 
would  entail  great  physical  suffering.  There  are 
a  great  many  of  this  kind  of  sufferers.  It  must 
by  trying  always  to  be  ailing,  to  be  confined  to 
one's  room  for  weeks,  and  possibly  years,  by 
physical  sufferings.     Those  of  us  who  enjoy  good 


1 68  Soul  Crises 

health  should  at  least  be  grateful  and  furthermore 
we  should  take  reasonable  care  of  it,  for  it  is  one 
of  those  priceless  boons  we  value  most  when  be- 
yond recall. 

But  exacting  as  physical  suffering  is  there  is 
another  kind  which  is  even  worse.  It  is  mental 
suffering.  This  was  the  nature  of  Ezekiel's  suf- 
ferings. To  appreciate  the  gravity  of  his  ex- 
perience one  needs  to  have  been  in  a  similar  posi- 
tion. If  you  have  watched  over  your  loved  ones 
as  they  faded  from  health  to  weakness,  if  you 
have  seen  them  becoming  a  little  more  frail  until 
one  never  to  be  forgotten  night  when  the  end  came 
— if  you  have  had  an  experience  of  this  nature — 
you  will  be  able  to  sympathize  with  Ezekiel  as  he 
passes  through  his  great  domestic  crisis.  As  the 
dimensions  of  his  sorrow  break  in  upon  us,  we 
begin  to  compute  the  measure  of  his  suspense,  his 
anxiety,  his  inward  struggle  to  become  reconciled 
to  his  fate.  The  appalling  nature  of  suspense, 
the  fearful  uncertainty,  the  struggle  of  hope  with 
despair,  must  be  experienced  to  be  known. 

As  we  contemplate  Ezekiel's  mental  agony,  we 
see  that  his  suffering  was  intensified  by  the  sud- 
denness of  the  stroke.  "In  the  morning  I  spake 
unto  the  people,  and  at  even  my  wife  died."  The 
sorrow  of  bereavement  is  invariably  great,  but  it 
is  simply  overwhelming  when  it  finds  us  unpre- 
pared for  its  approach.  The  blow  is  somewhat 
relieved  of  its  severity  when  we  are  looking  for 
it.     There  is  a  better  chance  of  our  becoming 


A  Domestic  Crisis  169 

reconciled  to  It  than  when  we  are  taken  unawares. 
Ezekiel's  suffering  is  by  no  means  an  unusual  ex- 
perience. As  we  consider  the  loss  he  sustained, 
we  are  the  better  able  to  view  our  own.  How 
many  domestic  relations  have  been  disturbed,  and 
severed  in  the  present  crisis!  Our  brave  brothers 
and  sons,  so  recently  departed,  had  one  thing  in 
common,  they  loved.  They  loved  the  great 
and  glorious  nation  of  which  we  form  a  part,  and 
how  dearly  they  loved  their  homes!  They  have 
gone ! — gone !  not  because  they  loved  us  the  less, 
but  because  they  loved  honour  more.  They  re- 
sponded to  the  call  of  their  King  and  Country. 
They  have  gone  to  fight,  to  suffer,  and  if  need  be 
to  die  for  Truth,  and  Home,  and  God.  To  go  to 
the  front  is  no  child's  play.  The  call  has  been 
for  men,  and  only  the  most  physically  fit  have 
been  privileged  to  go.  All  honour  to  the  men 
who  have  gone !  They  cheerfully  gave  up  the 
companionship  of  those  they  loved  dearer  than 
life,  at  the  call  of  Duty,  and  their  sacrifice  is 
great.  But  if  I  understand  this  fearful  situation 
aright,  the  greatest  valour  is  not  confined  to  the 
trenches.  The  most  strenuous  demands  have  been 
made  upon  those  who  are  left  behind,  who  gaze 
upon  a  vacant  chair,  who  anxiously  wait  and 
fervently  pray.  All  honour  to  the  noble  mothers 
and  wives  and  sweethearts  who  have  given  their 
dear  ones  freely  at  a  time  like  this !  Our  suffer- 
ing is  too  apparent  to  admit  of  our  enlarging  upon 
It.     But  this  can  be  said,  our  own  domestic  sor- 


lyo  Soul  Crises 

rows  help  us  to  sympathize  with  the  prophet  who 
was  suddenly  bereft  of  *'the  delight  of  his  eyes." 

He  suffered  I  How  much  God  only  knows! 
But  observe  his  refuge  in  the  midst  of  his  suffer- 
ing! Some  men  in  the  anguish  of  desolation  have 
rebelled.  When  they  have  lost  their  loved  ones 
they  have  lost  their  God.  Far  be  it  from  us  to 
criticize.  It  is  an  event  devoutly  to  be  deplored 
when  a  man  loses  faith,  but  this  was  not  the  case 
with  the  prophet.  Even  In  his  grief  he  held  on 
to  his  God.  He  saw  the  hand  of  God  in  his  af- 
fliction and  that  saved  the  situation.  If  we  can 
realize  in  the  present  crisis  that  God  is  still  on 
His  throne,  if  we  view  our  sorrow  in  the  light 
of  His  gracious  designs,  our  aflHiction  will  be 
sanctified  to  us.  And  when  He  has  tried  us  we 
too,  like  Job,  shall  come  forth  as  gold.  God  told 
Ezekiel  that  he  would  take  away  "the  delight  of 
his  eyes"  at  a  stroke.  Such  an  intimation  might 
have  prostrated  the  strongest  of  men,  but  when 
the  prophet  was  informed  of  the  significance  of 
this  stroke,  he  humbly  acquiesced. 

This  life  is  not  all.  And  the  great  question 
after  all  is  this:  Whom  are  we  living  for?  What 
are  we  desirous  of  accomplishing?  This  is  not 
our  abiding  place.  We  seek  "a  city  which  hath 
foundations,  whose  builder  and  maker  is  God." 
It  is  an  enviable  thing  to  have  an  honoured  part 
in  building  the  Empire  of  Righteousness.  We 
grieve  when  our  loved  ones  depart,  but  we  sorrow 
not  as  those  without  hope.     If  by  faith  we  can 


A  Domestic  Crisis  171 

become  reconciled  to  our  lot,  we  eventually  shall 
see  that  "all  things  work  together  for  good  to 
them  that  love  God."  There  is  another  life  which 
many  of  our  loved  ones  have  gone  to  re-enforce. 
"The  Lord  is  our  refuge  and  strength,  a  very 
present  help  in  time  of  trouble." 

"In  the  evening  my  wife  died:  and  in  the  morn- 
ing I  did  as  I  was  commanded."  Ezekiel  was 
a  man  who  served.  God  teaches  men  by  the 
means  at  His  disposal.  Some  worthy  souls  are 
alert  enough  to  hear  the  still  small  voice,  but  the 
majority  of  us  are  so  preoccupied  that  we  can 
be  brought  to  attention  only  by  the  roar  of 
cannon.  It  was  a  critical  time  in  Jewish  history. 
God  wanted  to  give  His  people  an  idea  of  the 
dire  calamities  which  were  soon  to  overtake  them. 
So  he  said  to  Ezekiel,  "Son  of  man,  behold,  I 
take  away  from  thee  the  desire  of  thine  eyes  with 
a  stroke,"  and  thou  shalt  omit  the  usual  signs  of 
mourning.  This  will  impress  the  people.  They 
will  ask  the  significance  of  thy  strange  behaviour 
and  thou  shalt  inform  them  of  the  consequences 
of  their  sin.  "Ye  shall  not  mourn  nor  weep;  but 
ye  shall  pine  away  for  your  iniquities,  and  mourn 
one  toward  another."  So  this  Is  recorded,  "In 
the  evening  my  wife  died:  and  in  the  morning  I 
did  as  I  was  commanded." 

You  can  see  him  on  that  never  to  be  forgotten 
night  as  he  paces  to  and  fro.  He  is  passing 
through  his  Gethsemane.  You  can  imagine  his 
condition,  but  do  you  see  him  next  morning?    He 


172  Soul  Crises 

has  had  no  sleep.  He  wants  no  breakfast.  His 
eyes  are  red  with  weeping.  His  heart  is  heavy, 
his  gait  uncertain,  but  thank  God  he  went  forth. 
*'In  the  morning  I  did  as  I  was  commanded."  He 
served  the  same  God  after  that  eventful  night, 
but  with  a  new  vision.  No  man  can  pass  through 
such  an  experience  and  ever  be  the  same  again. 
Lo !  the  prophet  has  a  new  message.  He  prophe- 
sies the  rise  of  '*a  new  Israel  out  of  the  ruins  of 
the  old."  ^  He  merged  his  grief  in  public  duty. 
If  men  disregarded  his  words  they  were  impressed 
by  his  conduct.  He  stood  for  a  sign  and  so  does 
every  man  who  names  the  name  of  Christ.  It 
is  our  privilege  to  make  men  feel  the  power  of 
the  world  to  come.  What  is  to  be  the  outcome 
of  the  present  crisis?  If  we  have  been  favoured 
by  a  new  vision,  we  will  see  a  new  world  wherein 
righteousness  shall  dwell;  we  will  see  that  there 
is  another  King  who  is  coming  to  His  own. 

Ezekiel's  labours  were  well  rewarded.  The 
people  had  been  carried  into  exile  because  of 
idolatry  and  its  attendant  evils.  When  they  re- 
turned they  were  cleansed  from  idolatry,  and  this 
was  largely  due  to  Ezekiel's  labours.  He  lived 
to  see  a  decided  improvement  in  the  character  of 
the  people  among  whom  he  laboured  and  perhaps 
the  greatest  impression  was  made  upon  them  by 
his  courageous  example  in  the  great  domestic 
crisis  of  his  life.  "In  the  evening  my  wife  died: 
and  in  the  morning  I  did  as  I  was  commanded." 

'  Fairweather,   The  Exile  to  the  Advent. 


A  Domestic  Crisis  173 

His  service  was  immediate  and  it  was  attended  by 
gratifying  results.  "In  the  morning  I  did  as  I 
was  commanded."  He  was  prompt.  He  began 
well.  May  we  realize  how  urgent  the  command 
is!  The  King's  business  requires  haste.  With 
this  heroic  example  before  us  let  us  make  our  do- 
mestic sorrows  an  incentive  to  renewed  zeal,  and 
a  more  Christlike  devotion  in  His  service. 


CHAPTER  XIII 


A  SPIRITUAL  CRISIS 


And  He  said,  Lay  not  thine  hand  upon  the  lad,  neither  do 
thou  any  thing  unto  him:  for  now  I  knoiv  that  thou  fear  est  God, 
seeing  thou  hast  not  ^withheld  thy  son,  thine  only  son  from  Me. — 
Gen.  XXII,  12. 

A  STORY  is  told  in  political  circles  of  two 
men  who  were  nominated  by  their  respective 
friends  to  represent  a  certain  constituency.  The 
gentleman  who  advocated  the  claims  of  the  first 
nominee  spoke  at  some  length  upon  his  splendid 
qualifications.  He  made  a  very  favourable  im- 
pression when  he  reiterated  the  fact  that  the 
gentleman,  whom  he  had  the  honour  of  nominat- 
ing as  a  suitable  candidate  to  represent  the  con- 
stituency, was  a  "self-made"  man. 

The  next  speaker  made  a  very  short  but  ef- 
fective speech.  He  said,  "The  gentleman  to 
whom  we  have  just  listened  tried  to  make  an 
essential  qualification  out  of  the  fact  that  his 
nominee  is  a  'self-made'  man.  Evidently  he  is  a 
'self-made'  man,  but  the  candidate  whom  it  is  my 
privilege  to  nominate  was  made  by  God,  and  there 
is  just  as  much  difference  between  the  two  men 
as  there  is  between  the  two  makers." 

174 


A  Spiritual  Crisis  175 

In  the  political  arena  men  make  startling  state- 
ments, and  once  in  a  while  they  speak  truer  than 
they  know.  There  are  two  distinct  types  of  char- 
acter in  the  world.  The  one  is  self-made,  the 
other  is  God-made,  and  the  difference  between 
them  is  simply  the  difference  between  the  two 
makers.  There  are  a  great  many  attractive  traits 
in  the  character  of  the  self-made  man.  He  is 
diligent,  enterprising,  and  aggressive,  but  so  is 
the  devil.  What  determines  the  real  status  of 
one  whom  we  designate  a  self-made  man  is  not  his 
wealth  but  his  spirit.  By  what  motives  has  he 
been  actuated?  What  has  been  the  dominating 
thought  in  his  career?  By  a  self-made  man  we 
generally  mean  one  who  in  spite  of  obstacles,  in 
spite  of  poverty  and  a  limited  education,  by  sheer 
pluck  and  perseverance  has  made  his  way  in  the 
world.  A  self-made  man  may  in  the  truest  sense 
of  that  term  be  a  God-made  man.  He  may  be 
a  son  of  God  and  a  big  brother  to  his  fellows. 
But  that  a  man  makes  his  own  way  in  the  world 
and  does  the  best  for  himself,  it  does  not  neces- 
sarily follow  that  he  will  do  the  most  for  his  fel- 
lows. Everything  depends  on  where  a  man's  af- 
fections are  placed. 

We  read  of  a  self-made  man  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment. He  was  a  wealthy  farmer.  So  heavy  were 
his  crops  one  season  that  he  was  at  a  loss  what 
to  do  with  them.  "And  he  thought  within  himself, 
saying,  .  .  .  This  will  I  do :  I  will  pull  down  my 
barns  and  build  greater;  and  there  will  I  bestow 


176  Soul  Crises 

all  my  fruits  and  my  goods.  And  I  will  say  to  my 
soul,  Soul,  thou  hast  much  goods  laid  up  for  many 
years;  take  thine  ease,  eat,  drink,  and  be  merry." 
That's  the  kind  of  man  self  makes !  Self  first, 
capital  "I"  In  the  middle,  and  self  last.  "But  God 
said  unto  him,  Thou  fool !  this  night  thy  soul  shall 
be  required  of  thee :  then  whose  shall  those  things 
be,  which  thou  hast  provided?  So  Is  he  that 
layeth  up  treasure  for  himself,  and  Is  not  rich 
toward  God." 

Where  self  rules  principles  are  enslaved.  Take 
two  men  similar  In  mental  caliber,  with  precisely 
the  same  advantages.  The  self-made  man  suc- 
ceeds by  leaps  and  bounds.  The  God-made  man 
does  not  become  renowned  for  his  material  pros- 
perity. Why?  Because  he  disdains  to  be  un- 
scrupulous !  He  prefers  poverty  with  honour 
rather  than  riches  with  contempt. 

We  have  heard  a  great  deal  In  recent  years 
about  a  certain  self-made  man  who  has  been  dis- 
tinguished by  the  name  of  "superman."  He  is 
the  product  of  social  evolution.  His  chief  at- 
tribute is  the  exercise  of  ruthless  power,  and  as 
far  as  I  can  learn  from  his  methods  and  motives 
he  has  been  mis-named.  When  he  says,  "War  is 
not  merely  a  necessary  element  In  the  life  of  na- 
tions, but  an  Indispensable  factor  of  kultur,"  he 
Is  qualifying  for  honours  in  the  cabinet  of  his 
Satanic  majesty.  In  its  ultimate  issue,  the  self- 
made  man  is  a  Napoleon,  the  embodiment  of 
selfishness,  a  Kaiser,  the  embodiment  of  vanity. 


A  Spiritual  Crisis  177 

a  Judas,  the  embodiment  of  treachery,  or  a  mili- 
tary despot  who  is  the  embodiment  of  all  three. 

To  obtain  the  highest  type  of  manhood,  self 
must  be  subordinated  to  a  higher  power.  The 
self-made  man  is  distinguished  by  a  philosophy  of 
blood  and  iron,  by  what  he  has  accumulated,  by 
the  things  he  has  gathered  around  him.  The  God- 
made  man  is  distinguished  by  his  sacrifices,  by 
what  he  has  suffered,  by  what  he  has  given  to  the 
world. 

Therefore  I  ask  you  to  behold  a  man  among 
men  I  A  man,  boasting  many  distinctions  and 
sublime  achievements,  but  his  greatest  distinction 
lies  in  the  fact  that  he  was  made  according  to 
the  divine  pattern.  In  Abraham  we  have  a  con- 
crete illustration  of  how  God  makes  His  men. 
In  order  to  appreciate  the  divine  method  of  edu- 
cation it  will  be  necessary  for  us  to  refer  to  some 
of  the  outstanding  events  in  his  career.  His 
career  is  worthy  of  study  because  it  is  so  rep- 
resentative of  that  type  of  character  which  is  as 
opposite  as  the  poles  to  that  of  the  self-made  man. 
Our  text  introduces  us  to  the  supreme  sacrifice  of 
his  life.  This  great  spiritual  crisis  was  the  final 
examination  in  his  moral  and  spiritual  education. 
"And  He  said,  lay  not  thine  hand  upon  the  lad, 
neither  do  thou  anything  unto  him:  for  now  I 
know  that  thou  fearest  God,  seeing  thou  hast  not 
withheld  thy  son,  thine  only  son  from  Me."  These 
significant  words,  "Now  I  know,"  give  the  key  to 
Abraham's  eventful  life.     They  carry  us  back  to 


178  Soul  Crises 

the  beginning  of  his  pilgrimage. 

His  wonderful  career  began  in  obedience  to 

A  DIVINE   CALL 

"The  Lord  said  unto  Abram,  'Get  thee  out 
of  thy  country,  and  from  thy  kindred,  and  from 
thy  father's  house,  unto  a  land  that  I  will  show 
thee.'  "  This  call  came  to  Abram  in  Haran 
and  his  immediate  response  to  it  showed  him  to  be 
the  kind  of  material  out  of  which  God's  men  are 
made.  It  was  a  drastic  measure,  to  ask  a  man  to 
leave  his  home,  his  friends,  and  his  gods,  but  only 
drastic  measures  will  justify  the  attempt  to  make  a 
new  man.  Some  men  with  the  best  of  intentions 
begin  a  reform  in  Haran.  They  paint  their  house, 
they  clean  up  all  refuse,  and  give  their  home  an 
attractive  appearance.  They  begin  to  lecture  their 
frivolous  friends  and  even  whitewash  their 
heathen  gods,  but  to  every  would-be  Abram, 
God  comes  and  says,  "Get  thee  out!" 

It  requires  no  small  moral  effort  for  a  man, 
in  obedience  to  an  unseen  God,  to  leave  all  that 
Abram  was  requested  to  leave,  but  he  did  it 
and  history  shows  that  he  made  no  mistake. 
Doubtless  Abram  had  a  great  regard  for  his  home 
and  friends,  although  he  was  positively  dis- 
gusted with  idolatry,  and  when  God  called  he 
"obeyed;  and  went  out,  not  knowing  whither  he 
went."  It  was  an  act  of  simple  faith.  The  only 
true   and  living  God  had  called  him,   He  knew 


A  Spiritual  Crisis  179 

where  He  wanted  Abram  to  go,  and  would  show 
him  the  way. 

The  same  God  is  calling  to-day.  Have  you 
heard  His  call?  Surely  you  are  not  so  unreason- 
able as  to  imagine  that  you  never  have  heard  a 
call !  A  deaf  man  may  stand  among  the  trees 
where  the  birds  are  making  melody  and  never 
hear  a  note,  but  it  is  altogether  unreasonable  to 
talk  of  never  hearing  a  call  when  so  many  voices, 
so  urgent  and  insistent,  are  endeavouring  to  at- 
tract our  attention. 

The  God-made  man  is  not  the  only  man  who 
hears  a  call.  No  man  is  more  responsive  to  a 
call  than  a  self-made  man.  But  whereas  the  self- 
made  man  hears  the  call  of  ambition,  of  wealth, 
and  pleasure  or  fame,  the  God-made  man  hears 
a  divine  call ;  he  is  always  responsive  to  the  divine 
voice.  Nor  is  the  God-made  man  the  only  man 
who  leaves  his  country  in  obedience  to  a  call. 
Thousands  of  self-made  men  have  heard  the  call 
of  wealth,  under  their  own  vine  and  fig  tree. 
They  have  gone  far  beyond  the  comforts  of  civil- 
ization, they  have  faced  hardships  and  solitude 
with  a  cheerfulness  that  was  contagious,  but  with 
all  their  commendable  features  they  were  seeking 
great  things  for  themselves.  Thousands  have 
crossed  the  ocean  to  make  their  homes  on  this 
great  continent.  The  majority  can  easily  boast  a 
more  delightful  voyage  than  was  experienced  by 
the  Pilgrim  Fathers  on  board  the  Mayflower^  but 
few  can  boast   of   coming  to   our  shores  in  re- 


i8o  Sout  Crises 

sponse  to  a  diviner  call.  The  many  calls  we  hear 
may  be  resolved  into  calls  to  please  self,  or  to 
please  God.  Self  calls  and  God  calls.  Each 
promises  to  make  our  hearty  response  pre-emi- 
nently worth  while,  and  there  is  just  as  much  dif- 
ference between  the  respective  promises  and  re- 
wards as  there  is  between  the  two  promise  makers. 
Two  men  go  to  Africa,  each  in  response  to  a  call. 
One  hears  an  insistent  call  to  the  diamond  mines 
of  Kimberley;  the  other  hears  an  urgent  call  to 
go  and  preach  to  the  heathen,  to  civilize  and 
evangelize  Africa's  dark  and  benighted  sons. 
Both  work  hard.  One  eventually  becomes  a  mil- 
lionaire, the  other  a  Livingstone. 

The  career  of  every  God-made  man  begins, 
like  that  of  Abram,  with  a  divine  call,  and,  like 
Abram,  he  becomes  the  recipient  of 

A     DIVINE     PROMISE 

The  divine  promise  to  Abram  was  verified  by 
his  changed  name.  God  appeared  to  him  and 
said,  "I  am  the  Almighty  God:  walk  before  me, 
and  be  thou  perfect.  And  I  will  .  .  .  multiply 
thee  exceedingly,  .  .  .  and  thou  shalt  be  a  father 
of  many  nations.  Neither  shall  thy  name  any 
more  be  called  Abram,  but  thy  name  shall  be 
Abraham;  for  a  father  of  many  nations  have  I 
made  thee."  The  son  of  promise  was  born,  the 
son  In  whom  the  hopes  of  Abraham  were  centred. 
Do  you  know  what  the  advent  of  a  child  means 


A  Spiritual  Crisis  l8i 

to  his  devoted  parents?  A  man  has  a  truer  con- 
ception of  the  Fatherhood  of  God  when  he  looks 
into  the  eyes  of  a  child  of  his  own.  And  if  the 
advent  of  a  child  is  so  significant,  what  shall  we 
say  of  a  son  of  promise?  Gaze  upon  these  old 
people  as  they  renew  their  youth  in  the  presence 
of  this  child  of  promise. 

Ah,  no !  the  self-made  men  do  not  shine  here. 
To  prattle  to  a  little  child  is  so  much  waste  of 
time.  Time  is  money,  and  where  self  rules  every- 
thing becomes  as  hard  and  unresponsive  as  gold. 
If  we  were  as  interested  in  our  children  as  we 
are  in  our  livestock,  or  our  seed  grain,  there  would 
be  an  improvement  in  our  educational  methods 
and  standards  of  efficiency.  When  children  could 
be  sold  for  so  much  hard  cash,  even  slave-owners 
could  be  generous  and  humane.  When !  oh  when 
will  we  learn  the  priceless  value  of  the  souls  com- 
mitted to  our  care? 

We  can  see  joy  and  gladness  on  the  faces  of 
his  aged  parents  as  Isaac  blooms  into  the  beauty 
of  youth  and  vigour.  How  much  depends  upon 
him !  How  essential  that  he  be  instructed  in 
righteousness,  that  he  become  a  partaker  of  his 
father's  faith.  By  this  time  Abraham  was  con- 
sidered a  wealthy  man.  He  had  been  successful 
in  the  great  world  of  affairs,  and  what  was  more, 
his  heart's  desire  had  been  granted.  The  divine 
promise  was  personified  in  his  son. 

We  now  begin  to  see  how  high  the  God-made 
man    towers   above   the   men    self   makes.      Self 


1 82  Sottl  Crises 

makes  promises,  but  what  are  they  in  comparison 
to  the  promises  of  God?  Self  promises  ease, 
pleasure,  a  comfortable  old  age,  but  "Godliness 
is  profitable  unto  all  things,  having  the  promise 
of  the  life  that  now  is,  and  of  that  which  is  to 
come." 

As  Isaac  developed  into  manhood,  and  began 
to  assume  responsibility,  Abraham  felt  relieved. 
Now  he  could  enjoy  a  well-earned  rest,  and  pass 
the  remainder  of  his  life  in  peace  and  comfort. 
When  lo !  a  storm  broke  out  of  a  clear  sky.  All 
his  plans  and  purposes  seemed  to  be  demolished 
suddenly,  as  by  a  cyclone.  Like  every  God-made 
man  Abraham  was  subjected  to 

A   DIVINE   TEST 

"And  it  came  to  pass  after  these  things  that 
God  did  tempt  Abraham,  and  said.  Take  now  thy 
son,  thine  only  son  Isaac,  whom  thou  lovest,  and 
get  thee  into  the  land  of  Moriah;  and  offer  him 
there  for  a  burnt  offering  upon  one  of  the  moun- 
tains which  I  will  tell  thee  of."  If  it  was  a  drastic 
measure  to  ask  Abraham  to  leave  everything  and 
get  out  of  his  country,  it  was  a  mere  suggestion 
of  what  was  to  follow.  This  latter  injunction 
was  the  most  drastic  of  all.  To  ask  a  man,  vener- 
able with  age,  by  one  fearful  stroke  to  slay  his 
son,  to  put  the  knife  to  his  hopes,  was  a  terrible 
demand  to  make. 

Why  did  God  tempt  Abraham?     Various  re- 


A  Spiritual  Crisis  183 

plies  might  be  given.  One  is  that  this  is  not  an 
isolated  experience.  How  many  parents  have  as 
generously  given  up  their  sons  in  the  present 
crisis !  How  many  wives  have  as  courageously 
given  up  their  husbands  I  How  proudly  and 
cheerfully  our  brothers  and  sons  marched  away, 
and  some  of  them  will  not  come  back.  We  turn 
to  the  casualty  list  and  read  of  a  young  man 
"killed  in  action."  We  put  down  the  paper  with 
a  sigh  of  relief,  saying,  Only  one  in  that  list  to- 
night. Yes !  Only  one !  There  would  in  all 
probability  be  many  more.  But  supposing  that 
"one"  had  been  your  son  or  mine?  The  sad  news 
of  that  "one"  breaks  a  mother's  heart,  and  leaves 
another  vacant  chair.  How  many  prayers  were 
offered  for  that  "one"  !  How  many  fond  hopes 
were  centred  in  him  !  Alas  !  How  many  parents 
and  widows  are  now  passing  through  a  great 
spiritual  crisis,  as  a  result  of  their  loss!  Abra- 
ham, in  being  asked  to  take  his  son,  does  not  have 
to  walk  to  Mount  Moriah  alone. 

But  why  did  God  tempt  Abraham?  Another 
answer  is  that  nothing  reveals  character  so  clearly 
as  a  crisis.  This  Great  War  has  revealed  both 
men  and  nations  in  their  true  light.  In  a  very 
striking  manner  it  has  parted  the  sheep  on  the 
right  hand,  and  the  goats  on  the  left.  King  Albert 
of  Belgium  by  his  resolute  stand  for  righteousness 
has  covered  himself  with  glory.  His  Christlike 
example  will  be  an  inspiration  to  future  genera- 
tions.    King  Ferdinand  of  Bulgaria  showed  his 


184  Soul  Crises 

true  colours  when  he  intimated  that  he  must  be 
on  the  winning  side. 

The  great  gulf  separating  the  self-made  men 
from  the  God-made  men  is  seen  in  the  attitude 
adopted  in  the  present  crisis.  When  the  urgent 
call  was  made  for  men,  not  merely  to  uphold  the 
traditions  of  the  Empire,  but  to  defend  the  liber- 
ties of  the  race,  thousands  of  loyal  citizens  said 
to  themselves,  "This  is  a  great  crisis.  What  can 
I  put  into  it?"  What  the  God-made  men  and 
women  have  put  into  this  struggle,  is  seen  in  the 
generous  response  of  those  who  have  offered 
themselves  for  service,  in  the  Christ-like  efforts  of 
the  Red  Cross  Society,  in  the  Patriotic  Fund,  in 
the  various  relief  funds,  and  in  the  sympathy  and 
prayers  that  daily  ascend  to  God  that  He  will 
overrule  all  for  righteousness,  and  the  advance- 
ment of  His  kingdom. 

But  there  were  others  who  said,  "This  is  a  great 
opportunity  for  enrichment.  What  can  I  get  out 
of  it?"  And  while  their  brothers'  blood  is  being 
shed  for  freedom,  home,  and  God,  they  are  ex- 
ploiting their  king  and  country. 

Why  did  God  tempt  Abraham?  He  did  not 
tempt  him  with  the  idea  of  causing  him  to  sin. 
He  never  does  that.  Rather,  it  was  the  final 
examination  in  his  moral  and  spiritual  education, 
and  God  believed  that  Abraham  was  ready  for 
such  an  examination.  It  is  always  an  honour  to 
be  asked  to  take  this  examination.  For  "whom 
the  Lord  loveth  He  chasteneth,   and  scourgeth 


A  Spiritual  Crisis  185 

every  son  whom  He  receiveth."  "God  did  tempt 
Abraham.''  The  word  translated  ''tempt"  in  the 
A.  V.  means  to  prove  or  to  test.  God  did  prove 
Abraham,  or  subjected  him  to  a  divine  test.  In 
one  of  the  old  versions,  which  is  distinguished  by 
its  elegant  Greek,  there  is  an  interesting  para- 
phrase upon  this  passage.  It  reads:  "God  glori- 
fied Abraham."  What  a  delightful  explanation 
of  this  divine  test,  and  how  true  in  the  light  of 
Abraham's  subsequent  immortality! 

We  look  upon  such  a  divine  test  with  fear  and 
trembling.  But  what  makes  the  precious  gold 
of  Christian  character?  Is  it  ease?  comfort? 
or  sacrifice?  Who  are  those  who  have  impressed 
you  most?  Those  who  have  suffered.  What  does 
a  true  man  desire  more  than  an  opportunity  to 
prove  his  loyalty,  to  prove  his  spurs,  to  show 
himself  equal  to  the  demands  made  upon  him.  So 
in  setting  these  final  examination  papers  before 
His  servant,  "God  glorified  Abraham."  The  pro- 
cess of  glorification  is  not  an  easy  one.  "Now  no 
chastening  for  the  present  seemeth  to  be  joyous, 
but  grievous,  nevertheless  afterward  it  yieldeth 
the  peaceable  fruit  of  righteousness  unto  them 
which  are  exercised  thereby." 

When  Abraham  was  subjected  to  this  divine 
test  he  was  in  a  similar  position  to  all  who  are 
confronted  with  a  spiritual  crisis.  He  did  not 
know  what  was  going  to  happen.  He  had  no 
assurance  that  his  son  was  going  to  be  given  back 
to  him.     All  he  knew  was  that  God  had  said, 


1 86  Soul  Crises 

"Take  now  thy  son,"  and  in  obedience  to  the 
divine  command,  he  directed  his  steps 'to  Mount 
Moriah. 

But  were  there  no  questionings  in  Abraham's 
heart?  Put  yourself  in  his  place.  Mark  you,  he 
did  not  think  it  was  wrong  to  offer  his  son  as  a 
burnt-offering,  for  such  horrible  practices  obtained 
in  his  time.  But  he  must  have  thought  it  strange 
for  he  lived  far  above  his  time.  He  had  a 
father's  heart,  he  had  a  living  faith,  and  that  three 
eventful  days'  journey  would  rend  his  spirit.  He 
could  not  fathom  why  God  wanted  to  punish  him 
in  this  manner,  but  he  knew  that  God  knew  him 
better  than  he  knew  himself,  and  he  went  on. 
Imagine  his  feelings  when  the  unsuspecting  Isaac 
said,  "Behold  the  fire  and  the  wood,  but  where  is 
the  lamb?"  That  innocent  question  would  be  like 
plunging  a  dagger  in  his  heart,  "Where  is  the 
lamb?"  Abraham  spake  better  than  he  knew 
when  he  replied,  "God  will  provide  Himself  a 
lamb."  At  that  moment  God  was  giving  Abraham 
a  taste  of  His  own  experience,  a  knowledge  of 
the  mystery  "of  the  Lamb  slain  from  the  founda- 
tion of  the  world." 

We  do  not  always  know  why  we  have  to  pass 
through  great  spiritual  crises,  but  somehow  we 
feel  that  they  bring  us  to  the  heart  of  things. 
They  open  avenues  of  which  we  were  ignorant, 
like  our  Master  we  learn  obedience  by  the  things 
which  we  suffer.  With  the  assistance  of  Isaac, 
Abraham  soon  had  the  altar  and  the  wood  in 


A  Spiritual  Crisis  187 

readiness  for  the  sacrifice  but  a  more  difficult  task 
awaited  him.  How  was  an  old  man  to  bind  a 
young  man  of  twenty-five  years?  By  force?  Had 
it  come  to  a  struggle  the  young  man  could  easily 
have  held  his  own,  and  if  he  did  not  want  to  fight, 
he  could  have  taken  to  his  heels.  There  is  only 
one  answer.  Isaac  must  have  been  told  of  the 
divine  command  and  become  a  voluntary  victim. 
What  faith  is  displayed  by  the  father!  What 
Christlike  courage  by  the  son!  Isaac  is  securely 
bound.  The  keen  blade  flashes  in  the  sun.  The 
father  lifts  his  hand  to  strike,  and  suddenly  a 
voice  from  heaven  cried,  "Abraham,  Abraham; 
lay  not  thine  hand  upon  the  lad,  neither  do  thou 
anything  unto  him :  for  now  I  know  that  thou 
fearest  God,  seeing  thou  hast  not  withheld  thy 
son,  thine  only  son  from  Me." 

Abraham  has  passed  his  final  examination  with 
honours  and  is  given 

A    DIVINE    ATTESTATION 

that  he  was  a  God-made  man.  On  Mount  Moriah 
we  begin  to  breathe  in  a  new  atmosphere.  We 
have  left  self-made  men  far  below.  They  may 
have  great  material  possessions,  but  when  it  comes 
to  the  moral  and  spiritual  requirements  of  the 
Law,  they  are  weighed  in  the  balances  and  found 
wanting.  This  divine  attestation  certified  to  all 
and  sundry  that  Abraham  had  graduated  from 
the  school  in  which  God-made  men  are  educated. 


1 88  Soul  Crises 

"Now  I  know  that  thou  fearest  God."  Abra- 
ham's faith  was  attested  by  the  hall-mark  of 
God.  Upon  such  a  demonstration  of  faith  God 
was  pleased  to  set  His  seal.  "Now  I  know  that 
thou  fearest  God."  Was  there  ever  a  grander 
testimony  borne  to  mortal  than  that? 

The  sacrifice  that  God  requires  is  the  sacrifice 
of  self.  By  his  sacrifice  of  self,  Abraham  antici- 
pated New  Testament  teaching.  "I  beseech  you 
therefore,  brethren,  by  the  mercies  of  God,  that 
ye  present  your  bodies  a  living  sacrifice,  holy,  ac- 
ceptable unto  God,  which  is  your  reasonable  ser- 
vice." By  our  resignation  to  the  divine  will,  a 
spiritual  crisis  may  be  transformed  into  a  climax. 

"Now  I  know  that  thou  fearest  God."  This 
divine  attestation  carried  with  it  certain  high  dis- 
tinctions. "By  myself  have  I  sworn,  saith  the 
Lord,  for  because  thou  hast  done  this  thing,  and 
hast  not  withheld  thy  son,  thine  only  son,  that  in 
blessing  I  will  bless  thee,  and  in  multiplying  I 
will  multiply  thy  seed  as  the  stars  of  the  heaven, 
and  as  the  sand  which  is  upon  the  sea-shore,  and 
in  thy  seed  shall  all  the  nations  of  the  earth  be 
blessed,  because  thou  hast  obeyed  my  voice." 
Without  seeking  it,  Abraham  was  given  a  place 
in  the  sun,  he  is  the  father  of  the  faithful,  and  en- 
joyed the  unique  distinction  of  being  called  "the 
friend  of  God." 


CHAPTER  XIV 

THE  ADVENT  OF  A  CONQUEROR 

And  Jesus  returned  in  the  poiver  of  the  Spirit  into  Galilee: 
and  there  ivent  out  a  fame  of  Him  through  all  the  region  round 
about. — Luke  IV,  14. 

WITH  these  significant  words  St.  Luke  an- 
nounces the  advent  of  our  Lord  from  the 
wilderness.  "The  wilderness !"  What  a  volume 
of  suggestion  is  contained  in  the  word  "wilder- 
ness." It  throws  a  flood  of  light  upon  the  text. 
It  gives  the  key  to  the  situation.  It  introduces  us 
to  the  scene  of  an  awful  combat.  It  suggests  a 
titanic  struggle.  Contemplating  the  word,  one 
naturally  thinks  of  the  prophetic  promise.  "The 
wilderness  and  the  solitary  place  shall  be  glad  for 
them,  and  the  desert  shall  rejoice  and  blossom  as 
the  rose." 

Our  fathers  had  such  a  magnificent  conception 
of  heaven  that  they  sometimes  designated  this 
beautiful  world  as  "a  waste  howling  wilderness." 

To-day  it  needs  neither  saint  nor  prophet  to  pro- 
claim that  many  parts  of  this  great  world  have 
in  a  very  literal  fashion  been  transformed  into 
"a  waste  howling  wilderness."  Belgium,  once  so 
fruitful  and  so  fair,  is  now  a  wilderness.    North- 

189 


190  Soul  Crises 

ern  France  Is  a  wilderness,  Poland  is  a  wilderness, 
and  alas!  these  are  not  all.  If  we  could  rest  as- 
sured that  this  word  in  all  its  bleak  and  tragic 
suggestiveness  applied  only  to  those  parts  of  the 
world  already  named,  our  sorrow  although  great 
would  be  modified  by  the  hope  that  the  wilderness 
would  eventually  rejoice  again  and  blossom  as 
the  rose,  but  it  penetrates  other  regions.  This 
word  "wilderness"  has  defied  all  geographical 
boundaries  and  made  its  presence  felt  in  every  na- 
tion under  heaven.  How  many  parents  and  rela- 
tives have  been  driven  out  into  the  wilderness, 
if  not  into  Gethsemane  itself,  because  of  this 
terrible  war?  Only  God  knows!  Tasting  the 
bitterness  of  death  and  passing  through  a  Jordan 
of  sorrow,  they  have  been  led  up  into  the  wilder- 
ness alone. 

There  is  no  place  on  earth  that  may  not  be 
transformed  into  a  wilderness.  It  may  cast  a 
blight  over  the  most  luxuriant  garden  of  life. 
Your  fondest  dreams  may  fail  of  fulfilment  and 
your  brightest  hopes  may  be  dashed  to  the  ground, 
but  as  life  is  more  than  a  dream,  and  one  hope 
may  be  succeeded  by  another,  you  need  not  de- 
spair. The  wilderness  is  a  place  of  danger.  Un- 
seen foes  lurk  all  around,  here  the  arch-enemy  has 
his  stronghold. 

Methinks  I  hear  some  Inexperienced  youth  sug- 
gesting he  will  never  venture  across  the  border 
Into  the  wilderness.  That  may  be  a  wise  resolu- 
tion for  a  stripling  because  the  wilderness  Is  a 


The  Advent  of  a  Conqueror  19*1 

place  of  stern  issues.  It  has  its  terrors  for  the 
weak  and  the  timid,  but  all  the  great  and  the 
good  have  braved  its  dangers  and  emerged  from 
its  experiences  equipped  for  life's  work.  Why 
was  there  such  an  urgent  and  insistent  demand  for 
Lord  Kitchener  at  the  beginning  of  the  war?  Be- 
cause he  had  been  through  the  wilderness.  The 
wilderness  is  a  testing  place.  It  has  its  perils  and 
it  has  its  possibilities. 

While  I  would  not  for  a  moment  minimize  its 
perils,  I  wish  to  speak  of  the  power  of  the  wilder- 
ness. "And  Jesus  returned  in  the  power  of  the 
Spirit  into  Galilee :  and  there  went  out  a  fame  of 
Him  through  all  the  region  round  about."  Power 
and  fame  are  two  outstanding  words  in  our  text 
and  these  prizes  we  would  Hke  to  obtain,  but  if 
we  are  honest  we  will  acknowledge  that  power 
and  fame  have  a  vital  connection  with  the  wilder- 
ness. If  we  would  be  men  of  power  and  make 
a  bid  for  fame,  we  must  pass  through  the  wilder- 
ness. 

Do  I  hear  some  would-be  warrior  asking 
"Where  is  the  wilderness  for  I  wish  to  enter  it 
now?"  You  may  find  it  just  where  you  are.  It 
is  the  place  where  the  tried  man  has  been,  and 
men  tried  and  true  are  the  demand  of  the  hour. 
The  wilderness  is  the  place  from  which  we  natur- 
ally shrink.  It  is  the  uninviting  place.  It  is  the 
place  where  we  are  tempted  to  shirk,  to  be,  and 
to  do  less  than  our  best. 

What  is  our  wilderness?     It  may  be  and  prob- 


192  Soul  Crises 

ably  is  the  place  of  duty.  Duty  I  the  word  is 
so  cold  and  unromantic,  it  is  so  arduous  and  irk- 
some that  we  would  rather  not  face  it.  Two 
choices  confront  us.  Either  we  must  do  our  duty 
or  die  in  the  wilderness. 

The  school  or  the  college  may  be  a  wilderness. 
To  be  shut  in  with  a  number  of  disagreeable  sub- 
jects, with  no  possibility  of  escape,  but  by  the 
mastery  of  them,  is  a  wilderness  indeed.  I  can 
sympathize  with  young  people  who  find  them- 
selves in  this  wilderness.  Have  I  not  literally 
sweat  in  reviewing  the  host  of  subjects  to  be 
mastered  before  a  man  is  supposed  to  be  fitted  for 
his  life's  work?  But  that  sweat  is  as  oil  on  our 
mental  machinery.  It  makes  it  work.  Young 
people !  others  before  you  have  felt  the  difficulties 
of  the  situation  in  school  and  college,  as  you  are 
doing.  They  looked  these  difficult  problems  in 
the  face  and  determined  to  solve  them,  and  they 
did.  Where  there's  a  will,  there's  a  way.  The 
subjects  you  have  to  study  now  may  appear  to  be 
difficult,  but  before  you  proceed  much  farther 
along  the  road  of  experience  you  will  find  that 
the  most  difficult  subject  you  have  to  deal  with  is 
yourself. 

Another  very  unusual  place  to  find  a  wilderness 
is  in  the  Christian  home.  The  home  has  been  de- 
scribed as  a  well-watered  garden,  and  a  well- 
watered  garden  is  a  prophecy  of  an  abundance  of 
flowers  and  fruit.  The  Christian  home  is  re- 
garded by  the  wise  as  the  garden  of  the  Lord. 


The  Advent  of  a  Conqueror  193 

In  that  garden  are  to  be  found  some  of  the  most 
fragrant  flowers  as  well  as  the  most  delicious  fruit. 
Yet  some  young  people  who  are  in  those  gardens 
are  not  content.  They  dislike  discipline,  they 
resent  chastisement,  they  fret  and  fume  at  this 
law  and  that  restraint  until  for  them,  at  least,  the 
garden  of  life  is  transformed  into  a  wilderness. 

Let  me  illustrate  what  I  mean.  There  was  once 
a  young  man  who  lived  in  a  most  refined  home. 
His  father  was  wealthy,  and  also  very  considerate, 
but  this  young  man  was  not  content.  He  made 
things  as  disagreeable  as  possible,  both  for  him- 
self and  others,  until  one  day  he  decided  to  leave 
home.  He  was  too  much  curbed  and  under  too 
much  restraint  at  home,  so  he  determined  to  go 
out  to  see  the  world  and  withal  to  enjoy  life.  He 
went  away  and  being  a  young  man  of  means,  he 
soon  made  friends.  We  will  not  follow  him  into 
the  questionable  places  he  frequented,  or  tarry 
to  detail  his  wanderings,  suffice  to  say,  he  was  re- 
duced in  circumstances  and  began  to  be  in  want. 
Without  means,  without  friends,  and  far  from 
home,  what  could  he  do?  He  applied  for  sev- 
eral respectable  positions,  but  was  rejected  be- 
cause he  could  not  produce  satisfactory  references. 
Finally,  in  sheer  desperation,  he  joined  himself  to 
a  citizen  of  that  country  who  sent  him  to  the  fields 
to  feed  swine.  In  that  reduced  plight  his  better 
nature  awoke.  And  when  he  came  to  himself,  he 
said,  "How  many  hired  servants  of  my  father's 
have  bread  enough,  and  to  spare,  and  I  perish 


194  ^oul  Crises 

with  hunger!  I  will  arise  and  go  to  my  father, 
and  will  say  unto  him,  'Father,  I  have  sinned 
against  Heaven,  and  before  thee,  and  am  no  more 
worthy  to  be  called  thy  son.'  "  When  he  went 
away  from  home  he  was  "beside  himself."  But 
when  he  got  rid  of  his  insanity  he  remembered 
what  he  had  left,  and  resolved  without  further 
delay  to  return. 

Young  people  who  do  not  appreciate  the  un- 
speakable privileges  of  a  Christian  home  are  "be- 
side themselves."  I  charge  you,  one  and  all,  to 
honour  your  parents  and  do  your  part  to  keep 
the  flowers  blooming  in  the  garden  of  your  home 
life. 

Again,  the  wilderness  may  penetrate  our  places 
of  business.  The  minister  engaged  in  the  King's 
business  sometimes  gets  discouraged.  The  scene 
of  his  labours  may  be  difficult  in  the  extreme,  the 
response  may  be  small,  and  the  good  man  is 
tempted  to  believe  he  is  in  the  wrong  place.  I 
have  heard  a  young  minister  bemoan  the  fact  of 
a  small  congregation  in  a  small  place.  "With  a 
mere  handful  of  people  in  a  school-house  and 
some  of  them  asleep  one  can't  put  forth  his  best 
effort.  Anything  will  do  so  long  as  you  talk  for 
half  an  hour."  Alas!  that  fatal  "anything  will 
do."  It  spells  disaster.  Will  "anything  do"? 
No!  When  we  address  our  fellows  as  ambas- 
sadors of  Christ,  anything  will  not  do.  Faithful 
preaching  in  every  school-house  will  make  its  in- 
fluence  felt  throughout   Christendom.      Faithful 


The  Advent  of  a  Conqueror  195 

preaching  in  a  small  congregation  makes  it  easier 
for  the  man  in  the  city  pulpit.  Besides,  the  wil- 
derness, with  its  difficulties  and  discouragements, 
is  the  place  where  great  preachers  are  made. 
Jesus  preached  to  some  very  small  congregations 
and  so  did  St.  Paul,  therefore  let  us  preach  as 
faithfully  and  fervently  to  three  as  we  would 
preach  to  three  thousand  and  even  a  wilderness 
will  inspire  us  with  its  possibilities. 

Your  wilderness  may  be  the  store  in  which  you 
are  conducting  your  business.  Unfortunately  it 
was  built  in  the  wrong  street.  It  has  the  disad- 
vantage of  a  poor  location.  You  could  do  fifty 
per  cent,  more  business  if  you  were  not  handi- 
capped by  being  on  a  back  street.  Situated  as 
you  are  it  is  not  worth  while  putting  forth  your 
energies  to  redeem  the  situation.  "Not  worth 
while!"  These  are  not  the  words  of  a  strong 
man.  "Not  worth  while!"  Have  you  honestly 
tried  to  make  it  worth  while?  Any  average 
tradesman  can  run  a  business  which  has  all  the 
advantages  of  a  good  name  and  a  suitable  loca- 
tion. It  requires  the  sustained  efforts  of  a  strong 
man  to  develop  a  thriving  business  under  adverse 
conditions.  If  you  have  goods  the  public  need, 
you  have  a  right  to  make  the  effort.  Utilize  your 
genius.  You  may  have  powers  of  which  you  never 
yet  have  dreamed.  It  may  require  the  aid  of  a 
hard  place  to  bring  out  the  best  in  you.  There  Is 
a  kind  of  omnipotence  In  patient  and  persistent 
effort.     Therefore,  rise  In  your  might!     Apply 


196  Soul  Crises 

yourself  with  a  will  and  soon  the  wilderness  of 
your  business-life  will  bloom  and  blossom  as  the 
rose. 

Your  wilderness  may  be  your  farm.  It  may 
be  so  rough  and  stony  that  you  are  tempted  to 
relax  your  efforts  and  be  content  with  the  second 
best.  What  has  been  said  of  other  callings  ap- 
plies equally  to  you.  Faithful  and  persistent 
labour  will  work  wonders.  Regard  the  difficulties 
of  the  situation  as  a  challenge  to  your  manhood, 
and  rejoice  to  be  a  labourer  together  with  God 
amid  the  great  forces  of  nature. 

Is  your  wilderness  a  place  of  disappointment? 
Bereavement?  Obscurity  or  adversity?  Jesus 
has  been  there  and,  what  is  more,  He  has  re- 
turned. 

Why  did  He  return?  Because  He  fought  His 
way  through  and  came  out  with  flying  colours. 
"And  Jesus  returned  in  the  power  of  the  Spirit 
into  Galilee:  and  there  went  out  a  fame  of  Him 
through  all  the  region  round  about."  "Jesus  re- 
turned!" 

A  great  many  who  go  up  into  the  wilderness 
never  come  back.  What  an  alarming  proportion 
of  the  Israelites  fell  in  the  wilderness!  They 
failed  to  reach  the  land  of  promise  because  of 
unbelief.  Unbelief  and  disobedience  decided  their 
destiny.  Their  example  is  a  warning  to  us. 
There  is  a  wilderness  we  must  all  pass  through  if 
we  would  wear  the  unfading  crown  of  manhood 
or  womanhood.     By  faith   and  prayer  we  may 


The  Advent  of  a  Conqueror  197 

not  only  pass  through  the  wilderness,  but  learn 
at  all  times  and  in  every  place  to  trust  and  obey, 
to  do  God's  will  in  God's  way.  The  way  out  of 
the  wilderness  may  mean  the  way  of  the  Cross. 
Some  saints  are  chosen  to  serve,  and  some  to  suf- 
fer. One  remark  made  by  the  Lord  to  Ananias, 
respecting  Saul,  of  Tarsus,  is  very  significant,  'T 
will  show  him  how  great  things  he  must  suffer 
for  My  name's  sake."  The  reproach  of  Christ 
may  entail  suffering,  but  let  us  rejoice  that  we 
are  counted  worthy  to  suffer  for  His  name's  sake. 
And  above  all  let  us  continue,  "Looking  onto 
Jesus,  the  author  and  finisher  of  our  faith;  who 
for  the  joy  that  was  set  before  Him  endured  the 
cross,  despising  the  shame,  and  is  set  down  at 
the  right  hand  of  the  throne  of  God." 

"Jesus  returned"  from  the  wilderness  and  it  is 
instructive  to  note  how  He  returned.  He  did  not 
come  forth  weak  and  emaciated.  He  "returned 
in  the  power  of  the  Spirit."  The  glory  of  a 
divinely  developed  manhood  was  upon  Him.  He 
came  forth  full  of  spiritual  power,  ready  for  all 
the  exacting  and  exhausting  demands  that  were 
henceforth  to  be  made  upon  Him.  How  majestic 
is  the  tread  of  the  man  who  comes  forth  from 
"that  great  and  terrible  wilderness,"  "in  the 
power  of  the  Spirit!"  The  smile  of  divine  ap- 
proval sat  upon  the  brow  of  the  Saviour.  This 
cannot  be  said  of  all  who  emerge  from  the  strug- 
gle. Some  come  forth  bearing  the  scars  of  the 
conflict  and  others  creep  out  exhausted,  looking 


198  Soul  Crises 

very  much  worse  for  the  encounter.  They  failed 
to  appreciate  the  purpose  and  possibilities  of  the 
wilderness.  The  wilderness  is  the  place  where 
decisive  decisions  are  made,  where  we  recognize 
"whose  we  are"  and  decide  "whom  we  will 
serve."  We  regard  the  wilderness  as  a  place 
from  which  we  should  escape  as  soon  as  possible. 
If  we  are  in  the  wilderness  we  will  make  a  fear- 
ful mistake  if  we  leave  it  without  the  divine 
anointing.  If  we,  like  our  Master,  return  "in 
the  power  of  the  Spirit,"  our  fellows  will  be  con- 
strained to  admit  that  the  wilderness  experience 
has  been  worth  while. 

If  it  is  instructive  to  learn  how  "Jesus  returned," 
it  is  equally  instructive  to  learn  where  He  came 
to.  "And  Jesus  returned  in  the  power  of  the 
Spirit  into  GaHlee."  Having  graduated  from  the 
wilderness  with  honours,  we  would  naturally  ex- 
pect to  hear  of  Him  labouring  in  Judea,  the  royal 
province,  and  having  His  headquarters  in  Jeru- 
salem. Such,  however,  was  not  the  case.  He  re- 
turned, not  to  Judea,  but  into  Galilee, — Galilee, 
the  ordinary  work-a-day-province.  Into  Galilee 
with  its  opportunities  and  its  needs  Jesus  came 
again  to  preach  the  Kingdom  of  God.  After  gain- 
ing a  unique  victory  and  receiving  a  fresh  influx 
of  divine  power,  He  did  not  despise  Galilee,  He 
did  not  feel  that  He  would  be  wasting  His  time 
and  talents  on  Galileans,  but  threw  Himself  heart 
and  soul  into  the  work  of  ministering  to  the 
needs  of  the  common  people.     As  we  return  vie- 


The  Advent  of  a  Conqueror  199 

torlous  from  our  moral  and  spiritual  crises,  we 
too  are  anxious  for  Christian  work.  With  the 
joy  of  battle  in  our  breasts,  we  yearn  for  con- 
quest, but  we  would  like  to  choose  our  Galilee. 
In  our  present  position  we  feel  too  cramped  for 
glorious  achievement.  If  we  could  choose  our 
Galilee,  we  probably  would  choose  the  front  and 
there  in  the  limelight  do  deeds  of  daring  and  win 
the  applause  of  an  admiring  world.  Men  are 
needed  at  the  front.  All  honour  to  the  men  who 
have  responded  to  the  call.  Men  are  also  needed 
behind  the  scenes.  It  may  be  your  lot  and  mine 
to  work  where  there  is  nothing  to  thrill  or  nerve 
to  action,  where  there  is  no  applause  and  little 
or  no  appreciation.  But  after  all  it  is  behind  the 
scenes  where  men  are  made.  Every  man  who  goes 
to  the  front  is  an  expert.  Behind  the  scenes  he 
was  drilled  to  act  with  the  precision  of  a  piece  of 
machinery.  Behind  the  scenes,  in  our  humble 
Galilee,  let  us  give  of  our  best,  and  eventually 
recognition  and  appreciation  will  come.  "And 
Jesus  returned  in  the  power  of  the  Spirit  into 
Galilee:  and  there  went  out  a  fame  of  Him 
through  all  the  region  round  about."  Even  in 
Galilee  Jesus  became  famous.  Some  have 
achieved  fame  in  Europe,  others  by  the  discovery 
of  the  Poles.  It  may  not  be  our  privilege  to  ride 
on  seas  of  glory,  but  let  us  make  an  honest  at- 
tempt to  merit  fame  at  home.  We  need  not  be 
concerned  about  the  fame,  but  we  should  be  very 
much  concerned  about  the  power.     Only  men  of 


200  Soul  Crises 

spiritual  power  can  share  in  the  Master's  work 
of  extending  and  establishing  the  Kingdom  of 
God. 


CHAPTER  XV 

A    NATIONAL   CRISIS 

But  I  ^vill  teach  you  the  good  and  the  right  njnay:  Only  fear 
the  Lord,  and  serve  Him  in  truth  ivith  all  your  heart;  for  con- 
sider hoiv  great  things  He  hath  done  for  you. — I  Sam.  XII, 
23,  24. 

f~\  UR  text  is  found  among  the  concluding 
^^  words  of  one  of  the  most  significant 
speeches  ever  delivered  before  a  national  as- 
sembly. This  great  speech  was  delivered  by  one 
of  the  noblest  of  the  noble  men  whose  names 
adorn  the  annals  of  Jewish  history.  He  was  at 
once  a  prophet,  a  priest,  and  a  judge.  Dedicated 
to  the  service  of  God  before  he  was  born,  his  life 
had  been  one  long  dual  act  of  divine  worship  and 
devotion  to  duty.  Samuel  was  a  living  embodi- 
ment of  righteousness,  and  as  such  he  commanded 
respect.  Added  to  his  integrity  and  his  unique 
position  in  the  nation,  were  years  of  experience 
of  the  stern  reahties  of  life,  and  when  this  ven- 
erable man  with  his  marred  visage  and  his  hoary 
locks  stands  up  and  motions  for  silence,  the  flower 
and  the  strength  of  Israel  do  well  to  give  good 
heed. 

This  was  a  great  occasion.     It  was  a  great  oc- 
201 


202  Soul  Crises 

casion  for  the  king.  There  he  stands,  a  young 
man  of  prepossessing  appearance,  and  magnificent 
proportions,  powerful  in  body  and  supple  in  limb, 
head  and  shoulders  above  his  fellows,  honesty 
upon  his  visage  and  a  god-like  purpose  kindling  in 
his  soul.  There  stands  Saul,  the  son  of  Kish,  he 
is  the  Lord's  anointed.  This  is  a  great  day  for 
him,  for  he  has  just  been  crowned  king  of  Israel. 
This  was  a  great  occasion  for  the  people.  They 
had  come  from  Dan  to  Beersheba,  and  had  just 
witnessed  the  coronation  ceremony.  They  stood 
on  the  threshold  of  a  new  era.  Henceforth  they 
were  to  be  known  as  a  monarchy,  they  were  to 
have  a  king  to  rule  over  them.  This  august  oc- 
casion had  been  preceded  by  the  crushing  defeat 
of  the  Ammonites  at  Jabesh-gilead,  and  those  war- 
riors were  full  of  the  joy  of  conquest.  They  saw 
visions  and  dreamed  dreams  of  future  supremacy. 
To  a  man,  they  were  vibrating  with  feelings  of  af- 
fection and  tokens  of  loyalty  to  their  king.  This 
was  a  great  occasion  for  the  prophet.  He  was 
master  of  ceremonies.  He  was  the  officiating  high 
priest,  to  him  had  fallen  the  honour  of  crowning 
the  first  king  of  Israel.  He  was  the  most  con- 
spicuous figure  on  that  momentous  occasion,  his 
every  act  had  been  followed  by  wondering  eyes, 
but  the  fact  of  notoriety  did  not  make  it  a  great 
occasion  to  him.  He  was  impressed,  not  with  the 
grandeur,  but  with  the  solemnity  of  the  occasion. 
There  is  such  a  thing  as  progress  downwards, 
and  where  the  nation  saw  a  climax  he  saw  a  crisis. 


A  National  Crisis  203 

and  as  he  rose  to  speak  the  scene  was  dramatic 
in  the  extreme.  The  young  king  and  his  jubilant 
subjects  were  about  to  hear  something  they  would 
remember  long  after  the  venerable  prophet  was 
dead  and  buried.  As  he  is  assisted  to  the  plat- 
form from  which  he  is  to  deliver  his  inaugural  ad- 
dress, he  is  greeted  with  a  tremendous  ovation. 
He  is  the  grand  old  man  of  the  nation,  for  up- 
wards of  forty  years  he  has  interpreted  to  them 
the  divine  will,  and  as  he  begins  his  speech,  the 
people  give  him  the  reception  he  so  richly  de- 
serves. That  Samuel  was  a  powerful  and  con- 
vincing speaker  is  attested  by  the  fragments  of 
his  great  speech  which  have  come  down  to  us. 
He  had  no  use  for  flattery,  although  he  knew  how 
to  touch  and  play  upon  a  popular  chord. 

He  began  his  immortal  utterance  with  a  re- 
minder of  his  having  acceded  to  their  request — a 
request  which  had  not  been  for  anything  base  or 
trivial,  but  a  request  fraught  with  far-reaching 
issues,  they  had  requested  a  king.  Imagine  the 
enthusiasm  when  reference  was  made  to  His 
Majesty.  Listen  to  the  cheers  as,  with  a  wave 
of  his  hand,  the  prophet  cried,  "Behold  your 
king!  the  king  who  is  henceforth  to  walk  before 
you."  There  was  a  subdued  hush  when  the  proph- 
et referred  to  his  age.  "I  am  old  and  gray- 
headed."  I  have  walked  before  you  from  my 
childhood  unto  this  day.  My  life  has  been  lived 
in  the  open.  I  have  moved  in  and  out  among 
you.     You  are  acquainted  with  my  manner  of  life 


:204  Soul  Crises 

and  now,  ^'Behold,  here  I  am:  witness  against  me 
before  the  Lord,  and  before  his  anointed,  whose 
ox  have  I  taken?  or  whose  ass  have  I  taken?  or 
of  whose  hand  have  I  received  any  bribe  to 
blind  mine  eyes  therewith?  and  I  will  restore  it 
you."  The  effect  produced  by  this  public  chal- 
lenge was  tremendous.  To  a  man,  the  people 
cried,  "Thou  hast  not  defrauded  us,  nor  oppressed 
us,  neither  hast  thou  taken  aught  of  any  man's 
hand."  It  was  a  daring  challenge,  and  a  remark- 
able vindication.  I  do  not  for  a  moment  imagine 
that  Samuel  was  seeking  self-aggrandizement  by 
such  a  spectacular  vindication  of  his  official  purity. 
It  was  rather  a  means  to  an  end.  He  had  some- 
thing to  say  of  supreme  significance,  and  he 
wanted  to  enjoy  the  confidence  of  his  hearers  and 
also  to  make  them  feel  that  he  had  their  highest 
interests  at  heart.  It  was  an  impressive  moment 
when  the  prophet  called  upon  God  and  the  king 
to  witness  between  him  and  his  hearers.  Then  he 
pronounced  the  awe-inspiring  name  of  Jehovah, 
and  requested  that  there  be  no  more  demonstra- 
tion. He  wanted  them  to  be  quiet,  and  listen  to 
the  burden  of  his  speech. 

"Now  therefore  stand  still  that  I  may  reason 
with  you  before  the  Lord."  Ever  since  the  day 
on  which  you  sent  a  deputation  demanding  a  king, 
your  request  has  given  me  food  for  thought.  On 
that  occasion  the  supposed  advantages  enjoyed 
by  the  Philistines  and  the  Hittites,  by  Syria,  Am- 
mon,  Moab,  and  Edom  were  cited  to  me.     Your 


A  National  Crisis  205 

contention  was  that  these  respective  peoples  have 
kings  to  go  before  them  Into  battle,  while  you 
are  seriously  handicapped  because  you  have  no 
king.  To-day,  I  wish  to  emphasize  the  funda- 
mental fact  In  our  history.  It  is  this,  Israel  has 
always  had  a  King,  you  have  been  clamouring 
for  a  change  of  government,  and  your  dissatisfac- 
tion warrants  the  assertion  that  you  have  failed 
to  realize  our  unique  national  Ideal.  Had  you 
been  faithful  to  God,  ours  would  have  been  the 
strongest  and  most  beneficent  form  of  government 
on  the  face  of  the  earth.  Your  plea  to  me,  as 
expressed  by  your  delegation,  was  that  you  wanted 
to  be  like  other  nations,  whereas  our  distinctive 
glory  has  been  to  be  unlike  them  in  election.  In 
character,  and  In  destiny. 

Let  this  thought  sink  deep  Into  your  hearts, 
Israel  has  always  had  a  King.  Who  Is  our  King? 
"It  is  the  Lord."  Where  is  the  king  among  the 
surrounding  nations,  upon  whom  you  have  turned 
your  distorted  vision,  who  can  compare  in  power 
and  in  glory  with  our  King?  Our  King  is  great 
In  conquest  and  achievement,  great  in  character 
and  resources.  Contemplating  His  character  and 
achievements  our  great  lawgiver  cried,  "Who  is 
like  unto  thee,  O  Lord,  glorious  In  holiness,  fear- 
ful in  praises,  doing  wonders."  You  revere  the 
memory  of  our  great  national  heroes,  and  you 
kindle  the  fires  of  patriotism  In  the  breasts  of 
your  children  by  reciting  the  exploits  of  Moses 
and  Aaron,  and  telling  of  the  remarkable  progress 


2o6  Soul  Crises 

made  by  our  forefathers,  from  the  land  of  bond- 
age into  the  goodly  heritage  which  is  now  our 
home.  I  commend  you  for  your  zeal,  but  who 
made  Moses  and  Aaron  a  possibiHty?  "It  is  the 
Lord  that  advanced  Moses  and  Aaron,  and  that 
brought  your  fathers  up  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt. 
This  is  an  important  piece  of  our  history  which 
you  have  overlooked.  The  Lord  Is  the  funda- 
mental fact  of  our  national  life.  Think  you, 
Moses  of  his  own  free  will  and  accord  would 
ever  have  bid  defiance  to  Pharaoh,  and  cham- 
pioned our  cause  in  Egypt?  No,  never!  The 
Lord  appeared  to  him  in  the  bush  of  flame  and 
called  him  to  undertake  this  herculean  task. 
That  Moses  was  reluctant  and  pleaded  inability 
Is  a  matter  of  history,  but  he  went  because  of  the 
assurance  he  received  that  the  Lord  was  with  him. 
That  the  Lord  was  with  Moses  and  Aaron  was 
demonstrated  to  the  satisfaction  of  our  enslaved 
ancestors,  and  moreover  to  the  satisfaction  of 
Pharaoh.  It  was  the  Lord  who  caused  our 
fathers  to  triumph  over  the  greatest  empire  In 
the  world.  Pharaoh  would  compare  favourably 
with  any  of  the  kings  you  cited  to  me,  nay,  he 
would  overshadow  them  all  put  together,  and  yet, 
what  was  he  to  withstand  the  Lord  our  King? 

You  reminded  me  of  the  victories  of  the  kings 
around  us,  but  what  are  they  in  comparison  to 
the  victories  gained  over  Sihon  and  Og?  Our 
fathers  begged  leave  to  pass  through  the  Amorite 
land.    Sihon  refused,  and  prepared  to  give  battle. 


A  National  Crisis  207 

Every  man  In  the  nation  fit  to  bear  arms  fought 
in  the  Amorite  army  against  Israel.     A  desperate 
struggle  ensued,  and  the  most  callous  among  you 
cannot  deny  that  it  was  no  mere  human  force  that 
enabled  our  fathers,  unused  as  they  were  to  war- 
fare, to  subdue  so  formidable  a  king  and  con- 
queror as  Sihon.    Og,  the  king  of  Bashan,  and  his 
people  were  the  remnants  of  the  giants,  in  height 
they  were  like  cedars,  and  in  strength  like  oaks, 
but  they  were  routed  by  our  ancestors  who  went 
against  them  in  the  name  of  the  Lord.     Every 
great    engagement   in    our   history   supports   the 
basal  fact  of  our  national  life,  that  the  Lord  is 
our   King.     Time  would   fail  to  tell  of   all   the 
righteous  acts  of  the  Lord,  of  the  glorious  con- 
quests which  He  wrought  by  the  hand  of  Moses 
and  of  Joshua.    Where  is  there  a  king  to  be  com- 
pared to  our  King?     That  the  Lord  is  our  King 
'  is  supported  by  two  series  of  facts  which  are  so 
evident  that  he  who  runs  may  read.     The  first 
series  demonstrates  that  whenever  we  as  a  people 
have  forsaken  the  Lord  we  have  come  to  grief, 
and  the  second  likewise  proves  that  whenever  we 
as  a  nation  have  repented  of  our  sins  and  cried 
unto  the  Lord,  we  have  been  delivered.     When 
our  fathers  sinned,  the  Lord  gave  them  into  the 
hand  of  Sisera,  but  when  in  penitence  and  faith 
they  sought  the  Lord  "the  stars  in  their  courses 
fought  against  Sisera."    Again  and  yet  again,  they 
went  and  served  other  gods;  and  the  Lord  brought 
upon  them  the  hosts  of  the  Moabites,  the  Midian- 


20 8  Soul  Crises 

Ites,  and  the  Philistines,  and  when  they  repented 
of  their  evil  and  turned  again,  the  Lord  raised  up 
Barak  and  Deborah,  Gideon  and  Jephthah,  Sam- 
son and  Samuel  and  ye  dwelled  safe.  These  are 
a  few  of  the  mighty  acts  of  the  Lord  our  King. 
Other  kings  doubtless  can  boast  of  conquests,  but 
can  they  boast  of  conquests  such  as  these? 

And  now  what  have  you  done?  In  the  light 
of  the  great  fundamental  fact  of  our  history 
where  do  you  stand?  You  have  sinned.  You 
have  proved  yourselves  unworthy  of  the  glorious 
traditions  of  our  race.  You  have  despised  your 
birthright  by  requesting  a  king  when  the  Lord 
your  God  was  your  King.  Behold  the  heavens; 
not  a  cloud  in  sight.  To  impress  upon  you  the 
awfulness  of  your  sin,  I  will  call  upon  the  Lord 
and  He  will  send  thunder  and  rain.  The  prophet 
prayed.  Instantly  the  lightning  flashed  and  the 
thunder  rolled.  The  panic  stricken  people  be- 
sought the  prophet  to  pray  for  them.  At  the  be- 
ginning of  this  inaugural  address  they  felt  secure 
in  the  presence  of  their  king,  but  now  they  see 
what  power  both  he  and  his  troops  combined  can 
summon  to  check  the  fury  of  the  storm.  They  are 
helpless  before  this  demonstration  of  divine 
power.  "And  all  the  people  greatly  feared  the 
Lord  and  Samuel." 

The  prophet  had  proved  what  he  set  out  to 
prove,  the  awful  nearness  of  God  to  man,  and 
of  man  to  God.     He  had  shown  them  the  place 


A  National  Crisis  209 

God  must  occupy  in  the  human  breast.  The  peo- 
ple in  their  foolhardiness  evidently  had  thought 
that  loyalty  and  obedience  to  their  king  would  be 
the  sum  total  of  their  moral  requirements,  but  the 
prophet  charges  them  to  remember  that  having  a 
king  in  no  sense  and  in  no  degree  exempts  them 
from  their  moral  and  spiritual  obligations  to  God. 
The  people  now  rightly  felt  that  they  had  rejected 
God  and  also  the  prophet,  and  they  wanted  to 
know  what  Samuel's  future  attitude  would  be. 

His  reply  was  worthy  of  his  character  and  of 
his  God.  ''Moreover  as  for  me,  God  forbid  that 
I  should  sin  against  the  Lord  in  ceasing  to  pray 
for  you,  but  I  will  teach  you  the  good  and  the 
right  way,  only  fear  the  Lord  and  serve  Him  in 
truth  with  all  your  heart,  for  consider  how  great 
things  He  hath  done  for  you." 

For  its  immediate  effect  on  a  national  assembly 
this  speech  has  few  equals.  But  a  more  serious 
question  remains.  What  effect  is  it  going  to  have 
upon  us?  When  delivered  this  address  had  only 
a  local,  or  at  least  a  national  significance,  but  the 
principle  it  enforces  is  eternal,  and  capable  of 
universal  application.  We  have  not  listened  to 
it  to  good  purpose  unless  we  have  felt  the  force  of 
the  fundamental  fact  of  all  national,  social,  and 
individual  life,  namely,  the  fact  of  God.  We 
have  failed  to  grasp  its  abiding  significance  unless 
we  are  convinced  that,  as  God  wrought  out  the 
destiny  of  His  ancient  people.  He  is  working  out 


2IO  Soul  Crises 

the  destiny  of  His  people  to-day.  And  we  will 
not  profit  by  this  instructive  speech  unless  we  ap- 
ply its  principles  and  its  warnings  to  our  own  na- 
tion, yea,  to  our  own  lives. 

In  these  strenuous  times  thinkers  are  seeking 
to  determine  what  is  the  best  form  of  government. 
You  may  wonder  what  form  of  government  I 
favor,  whether  I  favor  a  limited  monarchy  or  a 
democratic  form  of  government.  Brethren!  1 
have  spoken  altogether  in  vain  unless  I  have  con- 
vinced you  that  for  one  I  believe  the  world  is 
God-ruled.  We  have  been  told  repeatedly  that 
the  critics  are  endeavoring  to  eliminate  the  super- 
natural from  the  Bible.  They  cannot  do  it,  even 
though  they  should  try.  What  is  more,  no  man, 
whether  he  be  sceptic,  critic,  or  diplomat,  can 
eliminate  the  supernatural  from  national,  social, 
and  individual  life.  Depend  upon  it,  whoever  is 
winning  or  losing,  God  in  Christ  is  marching  on. 
Jesus  Christ  our  Saviour  is  the  King  of  Kings 
and  Lord  of  Lords.  The  place  and  power  of 
Christ  as  the  King  of  men  may  be  disputed  by 
the  lovers  of  mammon  and  the  despisers  of  jus- 
tice, but  it  is  an  indisputable  fact  nevertheless  and 
unless  the  worshippers  of  mammon  and  the  op- 
pressors of  mankind  desist  and  repent,  they  are 
doomed.  If  God  spake  in  the  terrible  accents  of 
thunder  at  the  behest  of  Samuel  think  you  He  is 
mute  to-day?  God  is  speaking  to  us  all  from 
Europe  because  we  have  disregarded  His  author- 
ity.    He  is  bidding  us  note  the  consequences  of 


A  National  Crisis  211 

sin.  And  this  we  cannot  deny,  the  world  has  put 
God  behind  the  back  too  long.  May  God  have 
mercy  upon  us !  In  deep  contrition  let  us  ac- 
knowledge His  righteous  rule. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

THE  MAN  WE  MOST  URGENTLY  NEED 

Moreover  as  for  me,  God  forbid  that  I  should  sin  against  the 
Lord  in  ceasing  to  pray  for  you. — I  Sam.  Xil,  23. 

THESE  are  the  words  of  a  man  after  God's 
own  heart.  He  expressed  himself  thus  in  a 
crisis.  Nothing  reveals  the  moral  stature  of  a 
man  so  clearly  as  his  attitude  in  a  critical  moment. 
A  crisis  had  been  reached  in  the  history  of  the 
children  of  Israel.  They  were  a  distinguished 
people,  the  children  of  the  covenant,  God's  own 
elect.  Centuries  before,  God  had  entered  into 
covenant  relationship  with  Abraham,  their  father. 
Later,  He  had  ratified  the  covenant  by  the  giving 
of  the  Law.  He  had  fed  them  with  bread  from 
heaven  and  given  them  a  liberal  supply  of  water 
in  the  desert.  He  had  led  them  by  a  way  that 
they  knew  not,  and  brought  them  to  a  land  of 
plenty.  He  had  routed  their  enemies,  and  blessed 
them  with  peace  and  prosperity.  As  a  people 
they  had  enjoyed  a  unique  experience.  God  had 
spoken  to  them  as  He  had  spoken  to  none  other. 
He  had  lived  among  them  and  showed  His  glory, 
His  power  and  compassion  as  He  had  shown  it 
to  none  beside,   but  after  all   His  exertions  on 


The  Man  JVe  Most  Urgently  Need      213 

their  behalf,  they  miserably  failed  Him,  they 
cast  Him  behind  the  back.  They  Ignored  His 
authority;  for  In  preference  to  a  heavenly  King, 
they  requested  an  earthly  one. 

Thus,  as  I  already  have  Intimated,  a  crisis  had 
been  reached.  With  God  as  their  King,  the  chil- 
dren of  Israel  had  risen  from  a  single  family  to 
be  a  first-rate  nation.  With  God  as  their  King, 
they  had  impressed  other  peoples  with  their 
power;  and  nations  both  far  and  near  felt  It  to  be 
a  matter  of  policy  to  be  on  good  terms  with  a 
people  who  had  never  lost  In  a  righteous  engage- 
ment. Time  after  time,  God  had  raised  up  men 
to  lead  His  armies  on  to  victory  and  one  of  these 
sons  of  God  was  Samuel.  He  was  the  judge  in 
Israel  when  the  Israelites  made  their  request  for 
an  earthly  king.  As  God's  representative  he  might 
have  reasoned  thus:  This  people  by  such  a  re- 
quest have  intimated  that  they  prefer  an  earthly 
monarch  to  a  heavenly  King,  and  consequently 
my  services  as  the  ambassador  of  the  Most  High 
are  dispensed  with. 

It  would  have  been  quite  natural  to  retaliate  and 
say  If  you  are  tired  of  God  as  your  King  you 
may  accept  my  resignation  as  your  prophet.  Sam- 
uel did  not  take  this  course  but  chose  a  more  ex- 
cellent way.  True  to  his  vocation,  he  told  them 
of  the  consequences  of  their  decision.  He  told 
them  how  grievously  they  had  sinned,  how  they 
had  wounded  the  heart  of  God,  but  instead  of 
forgetting  himself  and  his  peculiar  relationship 


214  ^o^^  Crises 

to  God,  as  they  had  done,  he  said,  "Moreover  as 
for  me,  God  forbid  that  I  should  sin  against  the 
Lord  in  ceasing  to  pray  for  you." 

Samuel  was  an  exceptionally  attractive  charac- 
ter. Only  a  good  man  could  give  expression  to 
such  words  as  we  have  chosen  for  our  text.  His 
early  life  and  work  is  full  of  inspiration  and  en- 
couragement to  every  pious  youth.  His  strenu- 
ous labours  on  behalf  of  his  country,  together  with 
his  stainless  career,  is  a  concrete  example  of  the 
purity  and  power  of  a  life  lived  in  uncompromis- 
ing integrity.  He  was  dedicated  to  the  service 
of  God  before  he  was  born.  He  served  the  Lord 
from  childhood  to  old  age,  and  at  the  close  of  his 
public  career  he  challenged  the  people  to  witness 
against  him  before  the  Lord,  "Whose  ox  have  I 
taken?  or  whose  ass  have  I  taken?  or  whom  have  I 
defrauded?  whom  have  I  oppressed?  or  of  whose 
hand  have  I  received  any  bribe  to  blind  mine  eyes 
therewith?  and  I  will  restore  it  you.  And  they 
said  thou  hast  not  defrauded  us,  nor  oppressed  us, 
neither  hast  thou  taken  ought  of  any  man's  hand." 
Samuel's  object  in  this  challenge  was  not  so  much 
to  vindicate  himself  as  to  show  that  he  was  disin- 
terested. He  was  not  impelled  by  any  selfish  mo- 
tive. He  had  no  axe  to  grind.  He  was  now  an 
old  man,  and  he  knew  that  unless  he  enjoyed  the 
confidence  of  his  hearers  his  advice  would  be  re- 
ceived with  suspicion.  After  assuring  the  people 
that  he  had  no  ambitious  intentions  in  this  grave 
matter,  he  proved  to  the  satisfaction  of  one  and 


The  Man  We  Most  Urgently  Need      215 

all  that  they  had  sinned  grievously  in  desiring  an 
earthly  monarch  when  the  Lord  was  their  King. 
He  asked  for  a  sign  from  heaven.  Immediately 
there  was  a  great  thunderstorm.  The  people  were 
terrified  and  said  to  Samuel,  'Tray  for  thy  serv- 
ants unto  the  Lord  thy  God,  that  we  die  not:  for 
we  have  added  unto  all  our  sins  this  evil  to  ask 
us  a  king.  And  Samuel  said  unto  the  people, 
Fearnot:  .  .  .  For  the  Lord  will  not  forsake  His 
people  for  His  great  name's  sake:  because  it  hath 
pleased  the  Lord  to  make  you  a  people  unto  Him- 
self. Moreover  as  for  me,  God  forbid  that  I 
should  sin  against  the  Lord  in  ceasing  to  pray 
for  you." 

In  this  emphatic  utterance  of  the  prophet,  we 
can  hardly  fail  to  recognize  two  outstanding  fea- 
tures regarding  prayer,  i.e.,  the  place  he  gave 
it,  and  the  light  in  which  he  viewed  it.  Consider 
the  Place  he  gave  it.  He  was  a  renowned  prophet. 
For  many  years  during  his  early  ministry  he  as- 
sisted in  the  Temple,  and  it  is  recorded  of  him 
that  "he  judged  Israel  all  the  days  of  his  life." 
Was  there  ever  a  better  judge  in  the  land  than 
Samuel  who  gave  intercessory  prayer  first  place? 
Is  it  not  remarkable  that  this  man  who  had  dis- 
tinguished himself  as  a  priest,  as  a  prophet,  and 
as  a  judge  should  esteem  intercessory  prayer  as 
the  highest  vocation  available  to  man? 

There  are  certain  individuals  who  take  cheap 
and  shallow  views  of  life  who  seek  to  inform  us 
that  it  is  foolish  to  pray  as  prayer  is  absolutely 


2i6  Soul  Crises 

in  vain.  I  sincerely  hope  we  can  refute  such  argu- 
ments by  our  own  experience.  Supported  by  the 
long  experience  of  Samuel  and  the  best  men  in 
every  age  we  reply,  "More  things  are  wrought 
by  prayer  than  the  world  dreams  of,"  and  if  ever 
there  was  a  clear  call  for  the  people  of  God  to 
pray,  that  call  comes  to  us  to-day.  It  is  to  be 
feared  that  prayer  does  not  retain  the  place  in 
our  individual  lives  it  occupied  in  the  lives  of 
our  fathers.  They  took  time  to  meditate  upon 
God  and  to  pray.  As  a  result,  there  were  giants 
in  the  land  in  those  days.  They  were  moral  and 
spiritual  giants  and  their  deep  piety  found  fre- 
quent expression  in  earnest,  believing,  prevailing 
prayer.  The  commendable  tenacity  with  which 
they  besieged  the  throne  of  Grace  and  clung  to 
the  mighty  promises  of  God  resulted  in  showers 
of  blessing.  "God  forbid  that  I  should  sin  against 
the  Lord  in  ceasing  to  pray  for  you." 

You  will  pardon  my  purposely  going  a  little 
way  behind  the  text  and  saying.  That  we  need  to 
intercede  with  God  on  our  own  behalf.  Let  us 
acknowledge,  once  for  all,  we  cannot  live  the  life 
of  faith  without  prayer.  We  need  the  abundant 
mercy  of  God  to  pardon  and  cleanse  us  from  all 
unrighteousness.  We  need  the  energizing  power 
of  God  to  enable  us  to  overcome  every  weakness 
and  to  equip  us  for  service.  We  need  divine 
guidance  and  divine  companionship.  We  have 
been  informed  by  a  Christian  poet  that  "prayer  is 
the  Christian's  vital  breath — that  prayer  is  his 


The  Man  We  Most  Urgently  Need       217 

native  air."  If  that  be  so  we  must  live  in  the 
atmosphere  of  prayer. 

Do"  we  know  anything  about  prayer  as  an  at- 
mosphere? The  atmosphere  of  prayer  is  a 
healthy  atmosphere.  No  feeble-bodied,  weak- 
kneed,  dim-eyed  Christian  can  live  in  the  atmos- 
phere of  prayer.  They  all  become  ''strong  in  the 
Lord  and  in  the  power  of  his  might."  The  atmos- 
phere of  prayer  is  a  clear  atmosphere.  It  en- 
ables us  to  penetrate  the  darkness  of  political 
strife  and  international  gloom  and  discern  the 
immovable  pillars  of  the  great  white  throne.  How 
the  vision  is  intensified  when  we  learn  "always  to 
pray  and  not  to  faint" !  The  spiritual  giants  of 
former  days  saw  God  not  only  on  a  cloudless  day, 
but  in  the  darkness  and  in  the  storm.  "He  maketh 
the  clouds  his  chariot  and  walketh  on  the  wings 
of  the  wind."  The  atmosphere  of  prayer  is  a 
bracing  atmosphere.  It  stimulates  and  invigor- 
ates until  men  begin  to  realize  what  God  means 
when  He  says,  "One  shall  chase  a  thousand  and 
two  shall  put  ten  thousand  to  flight."  Come ! 
oh  you  spiritual  cripples  I  Ye  lame  and  halt  and 
blind!  and  learn  to  pray. 

Again,  we  need  to  intercede  with  God  on  be- 
half of  our  homes.  Samuel  came  from  a  praying 
home.  He  had  a  praying  mother.  He  was  a 
child  of  prayer.  His  mother  taught  him  to  pray. 
He  had  prayed  all  his  life,  until  it  became  the 
master  conviction  of  his  soul  that  intercession  was 
the  mightiest  lever  at  his  command.    How  happy 


2i8  Soul  Crises 

the  parents  who  have  an  altar  In  their  own  homes ! 
How  blest  the  child,  who  like  Samuel  is  taught 
the  efficacy  of  prayer  in  his  own  home !  Those 
of  us  who  are  parents  have  grave  responsibilities. 
We  need  guidance  in  the  discharge  of  our  impor- 
tant duties.  The  only  way  we  can  transform  our 
responsibility  into  a  divinely  appointed  privilege 
is  by  the  gift  of  intercession.  To  train  children 
aright  is  not  an  easy  matter,  but  it  becomes  a 
sacred  trust  when  we  learn  to  pray  without  ceas- 
ing for  our  homes.  I  plead  with  you,  one  and  all, 
to  establish  the  time-honoured  custom  of  family 
worship.  Build  again  those  family  altars  which 
have  been  broken  down.  Young  people  !  as  mem- 
bers of  the  home,  I  ask  you  to  assist  in  this  most 
urgent  task.  Only  as  you  pray  at  stated  periods 
in  the  privacy  of  your  own  room,  can  you  live 
lives  of  uncompromising  integrity  and  fill  the  at- 
mosphere you  breathe  with  the  fragrance  of  an 
unsullied  life.  Pray  alone !  by  all  means,  but  do 
not  let  that  suffice.  Take  an  active  part  in  fam- 
ily worship.  Your  hearty  co-operation  will  stim- 
ulate and  encourage  your  parents,  and  make  you 
a  greater  power  for  good.  Our  parents  pleaded 
with  God  on  our  behalf  long  before  we  came  to 
realize  the  power  of  prayer,  therefore  we  are 
unspeakably  indebted  to  them,  and  we  are  in  duty 
bound  to  pray  for  those  of  whom  the  world  is 
not  worthy.  The  power  of  prayer  has  been  il- 
lustrated in  every  great  religious  awakening,  and 
it  has  invariably  emanated  from  the  home. 


The  Man  We  Most  Urgently  Need      219 

Again,  we  need  to  intercede  with  God  on  be- 
half of  the  church.  Our  Master  and  Lord  has 
left  us  a  most  inspiring  example  regarding  prayer 
for  the  church,  "the  church  of  God  which  He 
purchased  with  His  own  blood."  The  words  of 
Jesus  have  gripped  the  imagination  of  the  world, 
but  the  prayers  of  Jesus  must  ever  make  the  most 
eloquent  appeal  to  the  would-be  intercessor.  It 
was  a  no  less  distinguished  person  than  our  Lord 
who  said,  "Men  ought  always  to  pray  and  not  to 
faint."  His  own  example  was  the  most  telling  il- 
lustration of  what  He  taught.  Every  great  event 
in  His  public  ministry  was  preceded  by  prayer. 
Often  after  working  hard  all  day.  He  would  re- 
tire into  a  mountain  apart  and  spend  the  night  in 
prayer.  You  say,  "What  an  exhausting  business !" 
No!  We  have  a  mistaken  idea  that  intercession 
is  exacting  and  exhausting.  Jesus,  by  word  and 
deed,  proved  it  to  be  divinely  refreshing.  What 
was  the  meaning  of  His  reply  to  the  enquiry  of 
His  disciples,  "I  have  meat  to  eat  ye  know  not 
of?"  The  earthly  career  of  our  Lord  was  short. 
To  His  followers  He  said,  "It  is  expedient  for  you 
that  I  go  away."  But  before  His  departure  He 
lifted  his  eyes  to  heaven  and  made  intercession  on 
behalf  of  all  believers.  "I  pray  for  them:  I  pray 
not  for  the  world,  but  for  those  whom  Thou  hast 
given  Me;  for  they  are  Thine — Neither  for  these 
only  do  I  pray,  but  for  them  also  that  believe  on 
Me  through  their  word;  that  they  may  all  be  one; 
even  as  Thou  Father  art  in  Me,  and  I  in  Thee, 


220  Soul  Crises 

that  they  also  may  be  one  in  Us :  that  the  world 
may  believe  that  Thou  didst  send  Me."  Al- 
though our  Lord  has  passed  into  the  heavens,  the 
work  of  intercession  is  still  one  of  the  offices  He 
fills  by  divine  appointment. 

If  you  need  any  further  incentive  to  pray  for 
the  church,  take  a  glance  at  St.  Paul  and  all  the 
great  saints  who  have  wrought  righteousness  in 
the  earth.  St.  Paul  always  appears  to  advantage, 
but  he  is  never  more  irresistible  than  when  on  his 
knees.  "For  this  cause  I  bow  my  knees  unto  the 
Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  of  whom  the 
whole  family  in  heaven  and  earth  is  named,  that 
He  would  grant  you,  according  to  the  riches  of 
His  glory,  to  be  strengthened  with  might  by  His 
Spirit  in  the  inner  man;  that  Christ  may  dwell 
in  your  hearts  by  faith;  that  ye,  being  rooted  and 
grounded  in  love,  may  be  able  to  comprehend  with 
all  saints  what  is  the  breath,  and  length,  and  depth, 
and  height;  and  to  know  the  love  of  Christ,  which 
passeth  knowledge,  that  ye  might  be  filled  with 
all  the  fulness  of  God." 

The  work  of  Martin  Luther  only  can  be  ac- 
counted for  by  the  fact  that  he  prayed.  He 
prayed!  and  became  the  monk  that  shook  the 
world  I  Listen  to  John  Knox  as  he  prays,  "Give 
me  Scotland  or  I  die."  John  Wesley  was  also  a 
man  of  faith  and  prayer. 

While  we  rejoice  to-day  in  the  gift  of  great 
preachers,  the  need  of  the  hour  is  for  interces- 
sors, for  men  who  will  stand  between  the  porch 


The  Man  We  Most  Urgently  Need      22i 

and  the  altar  and  cry,  "O  Lord,  how  long?  Wilt 
Thou  not  revive  us  again?"  Further,  we  need 
to  intercede  with  God  on  behalf  of  our  country. 
The  prophets  of  Israel  were  intensely  patriotic 
and  Samuel  was  no  exception  to  the  rule.  Al- 
though deeply  wounded  in  spirit,  because  his  peo- 
ple had  sinned  so  grievously,  he  continued  to  pray 
for  the  nation.  A  nation  needs  the  prayers  of  its 
intercessors  at  all  times,  but  never  more  urgently 
than  in  the  hour  of  its  sin  and  shame.  When  we 
meditate  upon  our  country  and  its  conquests,  the 
prevailing  tendency  is  to  sing,  "My  country,  'tis 
of  thee,"  but  when  we  remember  our  country 
with  its  moral  and  spiritual  needs,  we  are  con- 
strained to  pray. 

The  national  anthem  and  all  our  great  national 
hymns  always  appeal  to  us  and  why?  Because 
they  are  prayers  by  which  we  approach  and  sup- 
plicate the  great  white  throne.  Christian  patriot- 
ism finds  its  most  appropriate  expression  in  prayer. 
At  a  time  like  this,  when  war  is  raging,  when 
thrones  are  tottering,  when  thousands  of  our 
noblest  young  men  have  responded  to  the  call  of 
their  king  and  country,  when  thousands  already 
have  made  the  supreme  sacrifice,  and  laid  down 
their  lives.  It  Is  the  bounden  duty  of  every  loyal 
Christian  to  pray  that  God  will  arise  and  let  His 
enemies  be  scattered.  You  are  doubtless  praying 
that  we  as  a  nation  may  be  delivered  from  our 
foes  without,  but  mighty  as  are  our  foes  without, 
they  are  not  so  much  to  be  feared  as  our  foes 


2  22  Soul  Crises 

within. 

Admiral  Beatty  gave  us  food  for  reflection 
when  he  said,  "England  will  conquer  when  she 
gets  down  on  her  knees."  What  a  testimony  to 
the  place  and  power  of  prayer.  Oh  you  inter- 
cessors! Pray  on!  "More  things  are  brought  by 
prayer  than  the  world  dreams  of!"  Therefore 
pray!  Pray  that  those  moral  and  social  evils 
which  thrive  upon  the  life  blood  of  our  brothers 
and  sisters  may  soon  be  overthrown.  Pray  that 
we  as  a  people  may  impress  the  world,  not  so 
much  with  our  military  efficiency,  as  with  our 
love  of  fair-play,  our  sense  of  justice,  and  our  de- 
sire for  righteousness  and  peace  with  honour.  In- 
tercessors on  behalf  of  their  beloved  land  never 
had  a  more  urgent  call  than  they  have  to-day. 

Finally  we  need  to  intercede  with  God  on  behalf 
of  the  world.  The  Christian  program  is  all-em- 
bracing. Jesus  said,  "Go  ye  into  all  the  world  and 
preach  the  gospel  to  every  creature."  When  we 
besiege  the  throne  of  Grace  the  world  is  our  par- 
ish! Our  motto  is,  "Christ  for  the  world;  the 
world  for  Christ."  Many  weapons  have  been  in- 
vented to  insure  the  conquest  of  the  world.  What 
weapon  will  begin  to  compare  with  intercessory 
prayer?  "The  weapons  of  our  warfare  are  not 
carnal,  but  mighty  through  God  to  the  pulling 
down  of  strongholds,  casting  down  imaginations 
and  every  high  thing  that  exalteth  itself  against 
the  knowledge  of  God,  and  bringing  into  captiv- 
ity every  thought  to  the   obedience  of   Christ." 


The  Man  fVe  Most  Urgently  Need      223 

"Moreover  as  for  me,  God  forbid  that  I  should 
sin  against  the  Lord  in  ceasing  to  pray  for  you." 
In  taking  a  parting  glance  at  our  text,  notice 
the  Light  in  which  the  prophet  viewed  intercessory 
prayer.  To  cease  praying  for  his  people  would 
be  a  sin  against  the  Lord.  It  is  imperative  for  us 
to  pray!  Our  Lord  both  by  example  and  precept 
has  commanded  us  to  pray.  "Men  ought  always 
to  pray  and  not  to  faint."  It  is  our  duty  to  pray. 
Therefore  as  we  recognize  the  needs  of  our  homes, 
of  the  church,  and  the  world,  let  us  say  in  the  lan- 
guage of  Samuel,  "Moreover  as  for  me,  God  for- 
bid that  I  should  sin  against  the  Lord  in  ceasing 
to  pray  for  you." 


CHAPTER  XVII 

AN    EFFECTIVE    WEAPON 

He  arose,  and  smote  the  Philistines  until  his  hand  ivas  iveary, 
and  his  hand  clave  unto  the  sivord. — II  Sam.  XXIII,  lo. 

THE  hero  of  our  text  is  Eleazar,  one  of 
David's  three  mighty  men.  In  graphic 
terms  we  are  told  how  he  achieved  fame.  The 
Philistines  had  come  up  against  the  Israelites, 
who,  instead  of  charging  and  routing  their  ene- 
mies, in  the  name  of  Jehovah,  beat  a  hasty  and 
disorderly  retreat.  It  was  an  embarrassing  sit- 
uation. To  see  the  men  of  Israel  running  pur- 
sued by  Philistines  was  humiliating  in  the  ex- 
treme. But,  in  "the  armies  of  the  living  God," 
the  soldiers  are  not  all  cowards,  and  it  is  a  minor 
detail  to  Him  to  save  by  many  or  by  few.  El- 
eazer,  coming  upon  the  scene  at  this  critical  junc- 
ture, turned  the  battle  at  the  gate.  He  saw  at  a 
glance  the  true  state  of  affairs,  and  without  wait- 
ing to  ask  the  reason  his  fellow-soldiers  had  fled 
in  confusion,  with  never  so  much  as  a  thought  of 
following  their  inglorious  example,  "he  arose,  and 
smote  the  Philistines  until  his  hand  was  weary, 
and  his  hand  clave  unto  the  sword."  In  our  text 
we   see    a   great   warrior  with   a   most   effective 

224 


An  Effective  Weapon  225 

weapon,  and  the  irresistible  conclusion  to  which 
we  are  carried  is,  that  he  knew  how  to  use  it. 
There  was  no  question  about  the  result  of  the  en- 
counter. The  PhiHstines  were  utterly  routed. 
"And  the  Lord  wrought  a  great  victory  that  day, 
and  the  people  returned  after  him  only  to  spoil." 
We  have  our  battles  to  fight,  and  our  conduct  in 
many  an  unexpected  crisis  will  decide  the  fortunes 
of  the  day. 

The  Philistines  of  wrong  are  still  defying  "the 
armies  of  the  Hving  God."  With  such  blasphem- 
ers, there  can  be  no  compromise.  Fighting  men, 
resourceful  and  courageous,  are  in  urgent  demand. 
Never  in  the  history  of  the  world  were  there 
greater  opportunities  for  conquest  and  achieve- 
ment than  await  the  "mighty  men"  of  to-day.  Our 
weapons  in  this  holy  war  "are  not  carnal,  but 
mighty  through  God  to  the  pulling  down  of  strong- 
holds." For  both  offensive  and  defensive  pur- 
poses we  are  splendidly  equipped.  Into  our  hands 
has  been  put  "the  sword  of  the  Spirit,  which  is  the 
word  of  God."  As  we  review  our  ranks  it  is  a 
great  relief  to  find  that  we  have  been  well  sup- 
plied with  swords. 

But  as  we  prepare  for  the  fray,  as  we  note  the 
unskilful  wielding  of  their  weapons  on  the  part 
of  so  many  of  our  men,  we  are  soon  convinced 
that  the  supreme  need  of  every  soldier  is  a  tighter 
grip  of  "the  sword  of  the  Spirit."  To  every  mem- 
ber of  the  Christian  Staff,  it  is  an  alarming  ex- 
perience to  discover  that  so  many  of  our  soldiers 


226  Soul  Crises 

have  not  learned  to  handle  the  sword  effectively. 
It  is  nothing  short  of  a  tragedy  to  see  men  exam- 
ining the  handle,  when  they  should  be  wielding  the 
sword.  How  hopeless  the  situation  appears  when 
so  many  of  the  rank  and  file  are  speculating  as  to 
whether  the  sword  will  bear  the  strain  likely  to 
be  put  upon  it  I  And  others,  with  a  patronizing 
air,  informing  us  that  while  some  notable  victories 
have  been  won  by  the  aid  of  this  weapon  in  the 
past,  it  is  now  old-fashioned,  out  of  date,  and  con- 
sequently must  be  hung  among  the  relics  and 
marked  obsolete. 

While  we  are  debating  the  merits  of  the  sword, 
the  Philistines  of  iniquity  are  laughing  us  to  scorn. 
But  thank  God  the  distressing  situation  is  still 
saved  by  the  unexpected  appearance  of  an  El- 
eazar,  who  rushes  single-handed  into  combat  to 
the  discomfiture  of  his  enemies  and  the  amaze- 
ment of  his  fellows.  Eleazar's  blade  was  keen  be- 
cause he  knew  how  to  use  it.  Although  faced  by 
fearful  odds,  "he  arose,  and  smote  the  Philistines 
until  his  hand  was  weary,  and  his  hand  clave  unto 
the  sword."  What  a  fighter!  A  mighty  man, 
with  a  poor  weapon,  will  make  inroads  where  a 
half-hearted  soldier,  with  the  best  sword  obtain- 
able will  turn  and  flee.  Eleazar  had  faith  in  God, 
faith  in  himself,  and  unbounded  confidence  in  his 
sword.  When  we  who  are  chosen  to  be  soldiers 
rise  up  and  smite  the  Philistines,  we  shall  be  fully 
convinced  that  "the  word  of  God  is  quick,  and 
powerful,  and  sharper  than  any  two-edged  sword, 


An  Effective  Weapon  227 

piercing  even  to  the  dividing  asunder  of  soul  and 
spirit,  and  of  the  joints  and  marrow,  and  is  a  dis- 
cerner  of  the  thoughts  and  intents  of  the  heart." 
"The  word  of  God!"  Who  can  estimate  the  di- 
mensions of  its  authority?  It  has  been  treasured 
as  the  most  valuable  asset  of  national  and  indi- 
vidual life.  Kings  and  people  have  cried  with 
equal  enthusiasm,  "Thy  word  is  a  lamp  unto  my 
feet,  and  a  light  unto  my  path."  Prophets  and 
peasants  have  proved  its  power  to  quicken,  to 
cheer,  and  to  sustain.  It  has  stood  the  most  se- 
vere tests  in  the  rude  shocks  of  life,  and  to-day, 
as  the  result  of  a  personal  knowledge  of  its  vital- 
ity, millions  are  prepared  to  bind  it  to  their 
hearts. 

But,  although  the  Bible  has  been  cherished  by 
its  friends,  its  authority  has  been  challenged  and 
ridiculed  by  its  foes.  Early  in  its  history  Lucian 
declared  Christianity  to  be  "the  latest  folly  in  the 
world's  madhouse."  In  the  eighteenth  century 
Voltaire  allowed  himself  to  describe  the  Bible  as 
"a  tissue  of  fables  fit  only  for  cobblers  and  tail- 
ors." Quite  recently  a  college  professor  ques- 
tioned the  wisdom  of  placing  the  Bible  in  the 
hands  of  our  children.  Thus  from  a  variety  of 
sources  we  are  informed  that  the  sword  should 
take  its  place  among  the  relics  of  the  past. 

In  replying  to  the  question.  Is  the  sword  of  the 
Spirit  obsolete?  I  am  going  to  give  you  the  testi- 
mony of  some  of  the  ablest  scholars,  the  most 
ardent  critics,   and  some  of  the  most  influential 


22  8  Soul  Crises 

leaders  of  our  race.  My  decision  to  bring  these 
men  before  you  to  speak  for  themselves  arises 
from  the  fact  that  so  few  take  pains  to  examine 
the  Bible  for  themselves,  that  so  many  are  con- 
tent to  be  influenced  by  second-hand  and  third- 
rate  opinions  about  the  Bible,  which  are  retailed 
in  bar-rooms  and  at  street  corners,  and  I  wish  to 
prove  to  your  satisfaction  that  any  man,  who,  in 
these  days,  speaks  disparagingly  of  the  Bible  is 
either  wicked  or  insane.  We  hear  a  great  deal 
about  higher  criticism.  And  from  that  school  of 
higher  criticism  which  is  composed  of  the  fore- 
most biblical  scholars,  as  well  as  the  most  ardent 
behevers,  we  have  absolutely  nothing  to  fear.  In 
fact  we  are  greatly  indebted  to  our  brave  Chris- 
tian scholars  who  have  undertaken  their  strenu- 
ous labours,  not  because  they  doubt  or  question, 
but  because  they  believe  that  we  have  received  "an 
authentic  revelation  of  the  One  True  God."  ^ 

But  there  is  another  school  of  higher  criticism 
very  different  from  the  one  I  have  named.  The 
late  Dr.  Watson  in  his  book,  God's  Message  to 
the  Human  Soul,  states  the  case  admirably  in  re- 
gard to  this  latter  school.  He  says,  "The  Church 
is  the  guardian  of  the  Bible,  the  critic  is  only  its 
editor,  his  province  is  the  letter,  he  may  not  med- 
dle with  the  spirit  of  the  book.  There  is  a  danger 
that  a  swollen  and  omniscient  criticism  should 
break  bounds  and  become  the  dictator  to  faith. 

^  Principal     Sir   George   Adam   Smith,    D.D.,   LL.D.     Modern 
Criticism  and  the  Preaching  of  the  Old  Testament. 


An  Effective  Weapon  229 

The  temptation  of  all  specialism  is  insubordination 
to  knowledge  as  a  whole,  the  weakness  of  all  spe- 
cialism is  complacent  ignorance  of  other  depart- 
ments. When  one  critic  of  our  day  reduces  the 
teaching  of  Jesus  to  a  few  sayings,  and  another, 
full  of  new  wine,  denies  any  epistles  to  St.  Paul, 
one  learns  the  limits  of  specialized  scholarship  and 
the  folly  of  giving  a  blank  check  to  critics  of  irre- 
sponsible judgment.  One  waits  for  the  critic 
who  shall  boldly  say,  as  some  have  been  hinting, 
that  Jesus  was  only  a  lay  figure  on  which  a  beau- 
tiful tradition  has  been  draped,  and  that  He  never 
lived  any  more  than  He  rose  from  the  dead.  We 
shall  then  have  the  supreme  irony  of  a  scholar  sit- 
ting within  his  study,  and  proving  to  his  own  sat- 
isfaction from  a  microscopic  examination  of 
manuscripts  that  there  never  has  been  any  Christ, 
while  outside  his  airless  study,  if  he  had  only 
ears  to  hear  the  tramp  of  innumerable  feet,  he 
would  know  that  the  risen  and  triumphant  Christ 
had  for  twenty  centuries  been  marching  along  the 
high  road  of  history  in  the  living  Church  which  is 
His  Body  and  His  instrument,  His  evidence  and 
His  manifestation." 

In  spite  of  all  that  has  been  written  or  said 
against  the  Bible,  it  has  survived  every  attack  and 
is  gaining  an  ever  expanding  influence  upon  every 
succeeding  generation.  In  spite  of  obstacles  the 
Bible  has  been  translated  into  more  languages  and 
dialects  than  any  other  book  in  the  world,  while 
sales  of  copies  of  the  Bible  are  far  in  excess  of  any 


230  Soul  Crises 

other  book  year  by  year.  In  listening  to  represen- 
tative witnesses  regarding  the  place  and  power  of 
the  Holy  Scriptures,  the  testimony  is  invariably 
the  same.  If  we  turn  to  literature  Theodore 
Parker,  so  brilliant  and  so  penetrating,  says: 
"This  collection  of  books  has  taken  such  a  hold 
upon  the  world  as  has  no  other.  The  literature  of 
Greece,  which  goes  up  like  incense  from  that  land 
of  temples  and  heroic  deeds,  has  not  half  the  in- 
fluence of  this  book.  It  goes  equally  to  the  cot- 
tage of  the  plain  man  and  the  palace  of  the  king. 
It  is  woven  into  the  literature  of  the  scholar  and 
colours  the  talk  of  the  street."  ^ 

The  masters  in  the  realm  of  literature  acknowl- 
edge their  indebtedness  to  the  Bible.  No  student 
of  literature  can  study  Shakespeare  without  real- 
izing the  influence  the  Bible  had  upon  him  in  his 
work.  While  Bacon,  Macaulay,  and  Ruskin  are 
loud  in  their  praise  of  its  inspiration  and  beauty 
of  diction.  Shall  we  sheathe  this  sword  which  has 
conquered  and  graced  Literature? 

If  we  turn  from  literature  to  the  great  moral 
forces  that  make  for  righteousness,  where  will  we 
find  anything  that  begins  to  compare  with  the 
Bible?  The  Bible  has  changed  the  face  of  the 
whole  civilized  world.  To  the  Bible  we  are  in- 
debted for  the  rise  of  what  we  term  modern  civili- 
zation. Every  great  epoch  in  modern  civilization 
Is  traceable  to  the  Bible.     An  open  Bible  was  re- 

*  Dr.  Gunsaulus  in  his  memorable  reply  to  Ingersoll.    Bible  vs. 
Infidelity.  \ 


An  Effective  Weapon  231 

sponsible    for  the   Reformation  and  the   rise  of 
Puritanism.     These  two  epochs  give  the  key  to 
all  that  is  vital  and  enduring  in  our  national  life. 
To  the  Bible  we  are  indebted  for  the  abohtion  of 
slavery,  for  the  elevation  of  women,  for  the  erec- 
tion of  asylums  of  mercy  in  every  civilized  land. 
As  a  statesman  Moses  is  still  exerting  a  tremen- 
dous influence  upon  the  world.     We  are  indebted 
to  him  for  an  exposition  of  law.     The  Bible  mes- 
sage to  nations  was  never  more  applicable  than 
it  is  to-day.     "Righteousness  exalteth  a  nation,  but 
sin  is  a  reproach  to  any  people."     True  to  this 
principle,  nations  have  risen  to  eminence;  false  to 
this  principle,  nations  have  dropped  out  of  sight. 
By  steady  adherence  to  this  principle  our  own  na- 
tion has  attained  an  unparalleled  greatness.     So 
long  as  we  recognize  that  we  are  the  stewards  of 
God  we  shall  prosper  but  if  we,  as  a  nation,  for- 
get or  Ignore   our   obligations,   we   shall   perish. 
Every  patriot  needs  to  give   good  heed  to  the 
words  of  Daniel  Webster,  "If  we  abide  by  the 
principles  taught  in  the  Bible,  our  country  will 
go  on  prospering  and  to  prosper,  but  if  we  and  our 
our  posterity  neglect  its  instructions  and  authority, 
no  man  can  tell  how  sudden  catastrophe  may  over- 
whelm us  and  bury  all  our  glory  in  profound  ob- 
scurity." ^ 

Shall  we  sheathe  this  sword  which  has  cham- 
pioned and  continues  to  champion  the  cause  of 
righteousness,  and  which  Is  the  exponent  of  free- 

*  Dr.  Gunsaulus.    Bible  vs.  Infidelity. 


232  Soul  Crises 

dom?  In  certain  quarters  it  Is  popular  to  wax  elo- 
quent about  the  brilliant  achievements  of  Rome 
before  she  was  Influenced  by  Bible  teaching.  In 
her  day,  Rome  was  a  great  world-power.  We 
cheerfully  acknowledge  her  exploits  and  give  her 
full  credit  for  the  part  she  played  In  civIHzatlon, 
but  the  history  of  Rome  Is  a  telling  Illustration  of 
the  fact  that,  "Righteousness  exalteth  a  nation  but 
sin  Is  a  reproach  to  any  people."  To  ascertain  her 
true  condition  we  must  listen  to  one  of  her  own 
sons.  Lucian^  writes:  "If  any  one  loves  wealth 
and  Is  dazed  by  gold,  if  any  one  measures  happi- 
ness by  purple  and  power,  if  any  one  brought  up 
among  flatterers  and  slaves  has  never  had  a  con- 
ception of  liberty,  frankness,  and  truth;  if  any  one 
has  wholly  surrendered  himself  to  pleasure,  full 
tables,  carousals,  lewdness,  sorcery,  and  deceit,  let 
him  to  go  to  Rome."  With  all  her  boasted  pomp 
/and  power  Rome  wore  the  shackles  of  moral 
slavery.  Where,  I  ask,  will  you  find  such  oppres- 
sive slavery  as  among  those  who  are  the  slaves 
of  sin? 

Wherever  the  Bible  message  has  been  pro- 
claimed In  its  purity  and  power,  slaves  have  been 
liberated,  class  distinctions  have  been  obhterated, 
and  men  have  been  delivered  from  every  form  of 
moral  bondage,  until  now  the  world  Is  coming  to 
recognize  the  Christian  fact  that  where  men  avail 
themselves  of  that  freedom  which  Is  freedom  in- 
deed "there  Is  neither  Greek  nor  Jew,  circumcision 

'  Dr.  Gunsaulus.    Bible  vs.  Infidelity. 


An  Elective  Weapon  233 

nor    unclrcumclsion,    Barbarian,    Scythian,    bond 
nor  free:  but  Christ  Is  all,  and  in  all." 

It  was  the  diligent  study  of  the  sacred  page 
which  led  to  the  emancipation  of  Martin  Luther, 
which  brought  him  forth  as  the  champion  of  re- 
ligious liberty,  and  enabled  him  to  rescue  western 
Christendom  from  ecclesiastical  tyranny.  It  was 
his  knowledge  of  man's  inheritance  in  Christ 
Jesus  imparted  by  "the  Word"  that  constrained 
John  Knox  to  pray,  *'Give  me  Scotland,  or  I  die." 
It  was  the  same  mighty  sword  that  put  fire  in  the 
blood  of  Garibaldi  as  he  was  seeking  to  effect  the 
deliverance  of  his  native  land.  As  men  rallied 
to  his  standard,  some  of  them  asked  what  they 
might  expect  as  a  reward  of  their  labours.  In 
effect  he  said,  "I  promise  you  hardships,  suffering, 
and  it  may  be  death,  but  by  God's  grace  I  promise 
you  a  free  Italy."  They  rallied  to  his  standard 
to  a  man,  and  you  know  the  result. 

Shall  we  sheathe  this  sword  which  has  played 
such  an  important  part  in  the  physical,  the  moral, 
and  the  spiritual  emancipation  of  the  race?  Shall 
we  sheathe  this  sword  which  has  been  the  safe- 
guard of  science?  With  regard  to  science  the 
Bible  has  suffered  in  the  house  of  Its  friends.  A 
great  deal  has  been  said  with  the  avowed  inten- 
tion of  proving  that  science  and  the  Bible  do  not 
agree;  In  fact,  that  they  are  in  dire  conflict.  The 
reverse  is  the  truth.  The  whole  question  has  been 
grossly  misrepresented,  and  aggravated  by  a  mis- 
understanding  of  the   claims   of   science   and   of 


234  ^oul  Crises 

the  function  of  the  Bible.  The  Bible  was  never 
intended  to  be  the  textbook  of  science.  But  in- 
stead of  entering  upon  the  controversy  about  the 
Bible  and  geology,  it  will  be  more  profitable  to 
hear  what  two  eminent  scientific  scholars  have  to 
say  about  the  Bible.  Francis  Bacon,  the  great 
interpreter  of  nature,  says,  "There  never  was 
found  in  any  age  of  the  world  either  religion  or 
law  that  did  so  highly  exalt  the  public  good  as  the 
Bible."  The  testimony  of  Professor  James 
Dwight  Dana,^  who  died  in  1895,  and  who  was 
recognized  by  the  scientific  world  as  one  of  the 
highest  authorities  on  geology  without  regard  to 
nationality,  is  of  particular  interest.  He  says, 
"The  grand  old  book  of  God  still  stands  and  this 
old  earth;  the  more  its  leaves  are  turned  and  pon- 
dered, the  more  will  it  sustain  and  illustrate  the 
sacred  word." 

I  repeat,  Shall  we  sheathe  this  sword  which  is 
the  herald  of  a  Christian  civilization,  which  is  the 
champion  of  freedom,  the  companion  of  science, 
and  the  handbook  of  religion?  After  all,  it  is  as  a 
book  of  religion  that  the  Bible  stands  or  falls.  It 
is  pre-eminently  the  book  that  reveals  God.  In 
its  pages  we  hear  God  speak.  It  has  led  men  by 
a  new  and  living  way  into  the  Presence  Chamber 
of  the  Eternal.  The  Bible  is  the  textbook  of 
reconciliation.  It  shows  how  heaven  and  earth 
blend,  how  righteousness  and  peace  dwell  to- 
gether, it  reveals  "a  new  world  wherein  dwelleth 

*  Dr.  Gunsaulus.    Bible  vs.  Infidelity. 


An  Effective  Weapon  235 

righteousess."  Unless  we  have  heard  God  speak- 
ing to  us  in  this  book,  we  have  missed  its  chief  aim. 
Have  we  embraced  its  teaching?  Have  we  claimed 
its  "exceeding  great  and  precious  promises?"  As 
we  ponder  the  sacred  page  are  we  conscious  of  an 
attractive  power?  Every  student  of  Holy  Scrip- 
ture who  is  at  all  acquainted  with  the  needs  of  his 
own  nature  is  attracted  to  "a  hill  called  Calvary." 

Let  us  learn  to  read  the  Bible  like  the  illustrious 
John  Seldon.^  He  says :  "I  have  surveyed  most  of 
the  learning  that  is  among  the  sons  of  men,  yet  at 
this  moment  I  can  recall  nothing  in  them  on  which 
to  rest  my  soul,  save  one  from  the  sacred  scrip- 
tures, which  rises  much  on  my  mind.  It  is  this: 
'The  grace  of  God,  which  bringeth  salvation,  hath 
appeared  unto  all  men,  teaching  us  that  denying 
ungodliness  and  worldly  lusts,  we  should  live  so- 
berly, righteously,  and  godly,  in  this  present 
world;  looking  for  that  blessed  hope,  and  the 
glorious  appearing  of  the  great  God  and  our 
Saviour  Jesus  Christ;  Who  gave  Himself  for  us, 
that  He  might  redeem  us  from  all  iniquity,  and 
purify  unto  Himself  a  peculiar  people,  zealous  of 
good  works.'  " 

Shall  we  sheathe  this  sword?  Ten  thousand 
times,  No !  We  need  it  in  every  righteous  engage- 
ment. Without  it,  in  the  great  battle  against  the 
world,  the  flesh,  and  the  devil,  we  would  be  van- 
quished. In  the  Bible  we  see  one  who  is  the 
brightness  of  the  Father's  glory  and  the  express 

^  Dr.  Gunsaulus.    Bible  vs.  Infidelity. 


236  Soul  Crises 

Image  of  His  Person.  He  stands  forth  as  our 
Saviour  and  Friend.  He  tells  us  that  God  is  our 
Father  and  that  Heaven  is  our  home.  Have  you 
any  misgivings  about  this  book?  Are  you  afraid 
to  place  it  in  the  hands  of  your  children?  Have 
any  of  you  found  your  children  to  be  the  worse 
for  reading  its  pages  which  glow  with  the  very 
life  and  love  of  God?  Ah,  no!  Many  of  our 
children  had  been  happier  and  holier,  had  they 
read  it  more.  When  you  get  home,  gather  your 
children  together,  open  "the  Word,"  and  read; 
then  kneel  together,  and  call  on  the  name  of  the 
God  of  Bethel,  the  God  of  Elijah!  "the  God  and 
Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,"  and  your  ex- 
perience will  be  similar  to  the  apostle  who  said: 
"Whether  in  the  body  or  out  of  the  body,  I  can- 
not tell." 

With  an  unrelaxable  grip  of  "the  sword  of  the 
Spirit"  let  us  rise  up  and  smite  the  Philistines  until 
our  hands  are  weary,  and  when  we  fall  exhausted 
our  hands  will  cleave  unto  the  sword. 

There  are  two  things  It  is  Imperative  for  us 
to  learn.  They  are:  that  we  have  a  most  ef- 
fective weapon  with  which  to  fight  the  battles  of 
the  Lord,  and  that,  almost  everything  depends 
upon  our  swordsmanship.  Even  after  the  battle, 
Eleazar's  "hand  clave  unto  the  sword."  How 
suggestive  and  how  true !  Have  we  not  seen  ven- 
erable soldiers  of  Jesus  Christ  who  were  stricken 
in  years  and  who  talked  of  retiring  from  the 
fray?    They  could  not  do  It!     They  went  down 


An  Effective  Weapon  237 

the  hill  fighting!  Their  hands  clave  unto  the 
sword!  "Yea,  though  I  walk  through  the  valley 
of  the  shadow  of  death,  I  will  fear  no  evil:  for 
Thou  art  with  me;  Thy  rod  and  Thy  staff  they 
comfort  me."  Brethren,  fight  on!  This  is  a 
good  fight!  This  is  God's  fight  and  let  us  help 
Him  to  win  "a  great  victory."  Of  us  may  it  be 
said,  "He  fought  a  good  fight,"  and  when  he  fell 
"his  hand  clave  unto  the  sword !" 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

CHRISTIAN   COURAGE 

He  steadfastly  set  His  face  to  go  to  Jerusalem. — Luke  IX,   51. 

THE  majority  of  us  are  better  acquainted 
with  such  aspects  of  our  Lord's  character 
as  His  meekness,  tenderness,  and  compassion  than 
we  are  with  His  courage.  But  we  only  need  to  be 
told  to  look  for  it  to  see  how  remarkably  cour- 
ageous He  was.  Jesus  was  the  bravest  of  the 
brave!  We  search  the  gospels  in  vain  for  any- 
thing approaching  cowardice,  either  In  His  public 
or  private  life.  He  is  the  only  perfect  example 
of  the  finest  type  of  courage  the  world  ever  has 
seen. 

Our  text  reveals  His  attitude  in  the  near  pros- 
pect of  death.  ''And  it  came  to  pass,  when  the 
days  were  well-nigh  come  that  He  should  be  re- 
ceived up,  He  steadfastly  set  His  face  to  go  to 
Jerusalem."  Mark  the  force  of  these  words.  He 
was  not  carried  bound,  He  did  not  go  reluctantly, 
''He  steadfastly  set  His  face."  For  several 
months  He  had  been  Hving  in  the  shadow  of  the 
Cross.  He  was  under  no  delusion  regarding  the 
future.  He  was  well  aware  of  what  was  before 
Him,  yet  He  never  hesitated.     No!  not  for  a 

238 


Christian  Courage  239 

moment,  but  imagine  the  conflict  within  I  Think 
of  His  immaculate  soul,  so  sensitive  because  so 
pure. 

People  who  possess  refined  natures  are  infinitely 
more  susceptible  to  suffering  than  the  coarse- 
grained and  the  vulgar.  They  experience  pains 
that  the  sensual  and  the  sordid  know  nothing  of. 
This  was  the  case  with  our  Lord.  None  was  ever 
so  holy  and  undefiled  as  He.  Hence  the  bitter 
struggle  to  overcome  difficulty,  disappointment, 
and  the  repugnance  of  death.  We  are  apt  to  im- 
agine that  Christ,  being  the  Son  of  God,  would 
not  shrink  from  death  as  we  do.  He  was  the  Son 
of  God,  He  was  also  the  Son  of  Man,  and  He  is 
"the  same  yesterday,  and  to-day,  and  forever." 
But  we  miss  the  significance  of  His  life  and  suf- 
ferings on  our  behalf,  if  we  fail  to  see  that  He 
experienced  to  the  full  the  agony  of  human  woe. 
That  cup  was  held  to  His  lips.  He  drank  it,  and 
drained  it  to  its  bitterest  dregs.  "He  steadfastly 
set  His  face  to  go  to  Jerusalem." 

Think  of  His  years !  He  was  a  young  man. 
Red  blood  was  coursing  freely  through  His  veins. 
Life  was  as  dear  to  Him  as  It  is  to  any  normal 
youth.  The  aged  may  repine  and  long  to  depart, 
but  not  so  the  young,  especially  those  who  are  on 
the  verge  of  a  great  career.  The  cry  of  youth 
is  not  for  death,  but  life,  for  opportunity,  for  ex- 
pression, for  expansion.  Our  natural  inclination  Is 
not  to  droop,  decay  and  die.  We  do  not  wish 
for  death,  but  life! 


240  Soul  Crises 


U    ) 


Tis  life  whereof  our  nerves  are  scant 
'Tis  life  and  fuller  that  we  want." 


As  we  think  of  His  years,  we  are  in  a  better 
position  to  understand  why  He  was  troubled  when 
a  Greek  deputation  came  and  addressing  Philip 
said,  "Sir,  we  would  see  Jesus."  When  told  of 
their  earnest  request  He  was  profoundly  moved 
and  said,  "The  hour  is  come,  that  the  Son  of 
Man  should  be  glorified."  The  petition  of  these 
pious  Greeks  gave  Him  the  vision  of  a  great  op- 
portunity. The  full  significance  of  their  request 
burst  in  upon  Him  like  a  flood  of  light.  But  the 
question  was,  how  would  He  answer  them !  Their 
invitation  was  prompted  by  the  highest  motives, 
and  therefore  worthy  of  kindly  consideration. 
But  what  did  it  mean  ?  Yes !  What  did  it  mean  ? 
As  the  tragedy  of  the  situation  gripped  Him,  He 
was  troubled:  He  became  visibly  agitated,  and 
can  we  wonder  when  we  hear  His  significant  re- 
ply, "Except  a  corn  of  wheat  fall  into  the  ground 
and  die,  it  abideth  alone:  but  if  it  die,  it  bringeth 
forth  much  fruit."  He  was  the  seed  corn!  The 
hour  was  approaching  when  He  must  die.  It 
needs  no  vivid  imagination  to  enter  into  the  pathos 
of  that  occasion.  Would  the  Lord  Christ  not 
have  enjoyed  the  unspeakable  privilege  given  to 
St.  Paul,  of  carrying  the  good  news  of  the  King- 
dom over  sea  and  land;  news  which  would  be 
welcomed  and  embraced  and  a  nation  born  in  a 
day? 


Christian  Courage  i^i 

But  before  Paul  could  preach  as  he  did,  there 
was  a  vital  preliminary.  There  was  a  death  to 
die !  Christ  had  volunteered  to  die  to  save  the 
world  and  would  He  draw  back?  No  I  Not 
even  this  attractive  proposition  could  allure  Him 
from  the  path  which  was  directing  Him  to  ''a  hill 
called  Calvary."  Our  Lord  had  all  the  ambition, 
all  the  high  ideals,  and  all  the  enthusiasm  of 
young  manhood.  He  would  have  rejoiced  as  a 
strong  man  to  be  favoured  with  the  exhilarating 
opportunity  Hfe  presents,  but  He  did  not  come 
into  the  world  for  a  good  time.  "He  pleased  not 
Himself,"  and  "when  the  days  were  well-nigh 
come  that  He  should  be  received  up,  He  stead- 
fastly set  His  face  to  go  to  Jerusalem." 

Think  of  His  experiences!  They  were  so  di- 
versified as  to  confirm  the  impression  that  "the 
prince  of  this  world"  had  marshalled  his  forces 
at  every  strategic  point  to  hinder  our  Lord's  prog- 
ress, to  defeat  the  divine  purpose,  or  by  any  means 
to  allure  Him  from  the  path  He  had  deliberately 
chosen.  We  are  apt  to  imagine,  after  his  crush- 
ing defeat  in  the  wilderness,  that  the  devil  would 
leave  Christ  severely  alone.  He  did  leave  Him, 
but  only  for  a  season.  And  we  must  remember 
that  from  the  time  when  Satan  tempting  Him 
said,  "All  these  things  will  I  give  Thee,  if  Thou 
wilt  fall  down  and  worship  me,"  until  the  day 
when  James  and  John  asked  permission  to  call 
down  fire  from  heaven,  our  Lord  was  persistently 
presented  with  the  thought  of  leaving  "the  way  of 


242  Soul  Crises 

the  Cross,"  and  yielding  to  the  desires  of  the  thou- 
sands who  longed  to  proclaim  Him  King.  Con- 
sider what  it  meant  for  Christ  to  adhere  so  strictly 
to  His  resolve  "to  go  to  Jerusalem,"  to  Geth- 
semane,  to  Calvary  when  the  people  were  wanting 
to  set  Him  on  the  throne  of  David!  There  was 
something  to  be  said  in  favour  of  the  popular  de- 
mand. Did  not  the  Jews  need  a  king?  Was  not 
the  Lord  Christ  a  Jew?  Was  it  not  a  standing 
disgrace  for  God's  chosen  people  to  be  under  a 
heathen  power?  Was  not  the  time  ripe  for  an- 
other- Maccabeus  to  strike  in  the  name  of  God? 
Ah,  yes!  The  advocates  of  striking  a  popular 
but  effective  blow  believed  the  opportune  moment 
had  arrived.  What  was  more,  Christ  had  been 
assured  of  the  wholehearted  support  of  the  prince 
of  this  world  if  He  would  only  yield  to  the  popu- 
lar demand. 

This  temptation  still  stands  athwart  the  path- 
way of  every  ambassador  of  Christ.  What  things 
we  could  accomplish  if  we  were  in  a  different  po- 
sition! What  reforms  would  be  wrought  if  we 
could  only  enjoy  popularity !  But  to  live  unknown, 
to  walk  the  hard,  unromantic  highway  seems  not 
to  be  worth  while.  Young  man!  Jesus  trod  that 
way.  He  had  all  the  power  and  glory  of  the 
world  offered  Him  If  He  would  consent  to  be 
popular,  but  He  refused  point-blank  and  "stead- 
fastly set  His  face  to  go  to  Jerusalem."  Doubt- 
less we  would  have  questioned  His  wisdom  and 
prophesied  His   oblivion,   but  regardless   of  the 


Christian  Courage  243 

consequences  He  went  on.  He  had  the  courage 
to  be  unpopular!  He  dared  to  be  singular! 
*'He  steadfastly  set  His  face  to  go  to  Jerusalem.'' 
Our  Lord  did  not  despise  popularity  any  more 
than  He  sought  it.  The  popularity  He  enjoyed 
was  well-deserved.  He  was  not  a  time  server, 
but  a  genuine  lover  of  men.  "He  spake  as  one 
having  authority  and  not  as  the  scribes."  He 
had  a  message  from  God  and  expressed  Himself 
so  clearly  and  with  such  conviction  that  officers 
sent  to  arrest  Him  were  arrested  by  His  elo- 
quence, and  returned  to  their  masters  saying, 
"Never  man  spake  like  this  man."  The  begin- 
ning of  His  Galilean  ministry  was  full  of  promise. 
The  news  that  the  long  expected  Messiah  had 
come  was  carried  from  lip  to  lip  until  the  whole 
country  rang  with  His  name.  He  performed 
many  wonderful  miracles  and  the  people  flocked 
to  see  and  hear  Him.  It  seemed  as  though  the 
Galileans  had  with  one  consent  become  Christians. 
But  their  Messianic  hopes  were  grossly  materialis- 
tic. It  soon  became  evident  that  they  were  ob- 
sessed with  the  idea  of  a  great  political  conquest. 
Believing  the  time  ripe  for  revolt,  they  sought  to 
force  the  issue  by  making  Christ  king.  He  de- 
liberately refused  to  yield  to  their  demand.  He 
told  them  plainly  that  He  was  not  a  political  agi- 
tator any  more  than  He  was  a  "Bread-king." 
This  brought  about  a  crisis,  and  those  Galileans 
who  had  been  His  most  ardent  admirers  received 
a  sudden  chill  and  forsook  Him  forthwith.    They 


244  Soul  Crises 

were  grievously  disappointed  in  Him  and  became 
incensed  against  Him.  This  was  a  cruel  turn  in 
the  tide  of  events.  His  labours  in  Galilee  with  a 
few  noble  exceptions  had  been  in  vain.  Nazareth ! 
so  full  of  tender  memories.  Nazareth !  where  He 
had  spent  so  many  peaceful  years  treated  Him 
shamefully.  Chorazin,  Bethsaida  and  Caper- 
naum, on  the  shores  of  the  silver  lake,  whose 
every  field  He  had  traversed,  performing  works 
of  mercy,  "and  preaching  the  gospel  of  the  King- 
dom," they  turned  away  from  Him. 

During  the  latter  part  of  His  ministry  He  had 
to  encounter  opposition  from  almost  every  con- 
ceivable quarter.  Six  months  before  He  suffered 
He  left  Galilee  and  ''steadfastly  set  His  face  to 
go  to  Jerusalem."  When  we  consider  all  the 
agony  of  rejection  behind  and  the  fatal  hour  be- 
fore who  will  hesitate  to  say  that  that  journey  is 
unique  in  the  annals  of  our  race?  "He  steadfastly 
set  His  face  to  go  to  Jerusalem."  On  the  way  He 
was  often  absorbed  in  the  thought  of  the  stern 
reality  ahead.  At  times  the  tension  was  so  great 
that  He  quickened  his  gait  and  went  on  ahead  of 
His  disciples.  "They  were  amazed,  and  as  they 
followed,  they  were  afraid."  At  other  times,  He 
went  more  deliberately.  We  see  Him  blessing 
little  children.  We  also  see  Him  among  His 
friends  at  Bethany,  but  Jerusalem  was  His  goal. 

"He  steadfastly  set  His  face  to  go  to  Jeru- 
salem," and  when  the  hour  struck  on  God's  clock 
He  was  there.     We  hear  His  significant  prayer: 


Christian  Courage  245 

"Father,  the  hour  is  come."  "The  hour!"  How 
stupendous  were  the  issues  of  that  critical  hour! 
We  get  a  faint  idea  of  what  that  hour  meant  to 
Him  as  we  see  Him  in  Gethsemane,  as  we  behold 
His  agony  and  hear  Him  cry,  "O  My  Father,  if 
it  be  possible,  let  this  cup  pass  from  Me:  never- 
theless not  as  I  will,  but  as  Thou  wilt."  We  hear 
footsteps,  and  at  the  head  of  a  multitude  armed 
with  swords  and  staves,  we  see  Judas.  We  see 
Jesus  come  forth,  the  supreme  crisis  past,  a  con- 
queror, and  with  regal  mien  He  goes  to  give  His 
life  a  ransom  for  many. 

Men  wax  eloquent  about  deeds  of  daring,  but 
where  will  you  find  a  more  sublime  exhibition  of 
Christian  fortitude  than  is  exhibited  in  the  cour- 
age of  the  Christ?  We  glorify  the  heroes  of  war, 
and  many  courageous  deeds  have  been  performed 
in  battle.  But  when  we  calmly  consider  all  the 
facts  we  shall  give  the  first  place  to  the  heroes  of 
peace.  Thousands  of  the  heroes  of  peace  have 
gone  into  the  present  struggle  not  because  they 
love  peace  the  less,  but  because  they  love  honour 
more.  It  is  Jesus  who  creates  the  latter  type  of 
hero  and  heroine.  Scores  of  them  move  in  and  out 
among  us.  We  do  not  recognize  them,  conse- 
quently we  fail  to  appreciate  their  dignity  and 
worth.  But  the  crowning  day  is  coming,  then  we 
shall  marvel  at  our  present  inability  to  recognize 
those  of  whom  the  world  is  not  worthy.  Jesus 
Christ  is  the  noblest  example  of  moral  courage  the 
world  has   ever  seen,   and   the   most  courageous 


246  Soul  Crises 

thing  any  man,  woman,  or  child  can  do  is  to  fol- 
low in  His  train.  To  renounce  every  idol,  and  to 
follow  Jesus  all  the  way,  we  need  courage !  To  be 
Christian  in  principle  and  Christlike  in  practice 
we  need  courage !  To  live  the  Christian  life  as 
Christ  lived  it,  we  certainly  need  courage. 

What  is  courage?  Whatever  it  may  be,  it  is 
not  starting  on  some  one  less  than  ourselves. 
Yet  we  only  need  to  scan  the  pages  of  history 
to  see  how  many  have  become  heroic  on  this 
principle.  One  of  the  glaring  evils  of  history  is 
that  of  lauding  men  who  have  been  positive  ene- 
mies of  the  human  race.  But  the  time  has  come 
when  these  so-called  heroes  should  receive  the 
execration  they  so  richly  deserve.  To  start  on 
one  less  than  yourself  is  not  the  act  of  a  hero  but 
of  a  coward.  We  have  a  ghastly  illustration  of 
this  principle  in  the  German  invasion  of  Belgium. 
Germany  may  plead  "military  necessity,"  but  a 
"military  necessity"  that  deliberately  tears  up 
treaties  and  wantonly  exposes  a  peace-abiding 
country  to  the  barbarism  to  which  Belgium  has 
been  subjected  is  a  long  way  out  of  date.  It  is  a 
crime  and  furthermore,  it  is  doomed!  By  such 
an  outrage  Germany  has  stamped  herself  with  a 
disgrace  that  time  will  never  erase.  The  truly 
courageous  man  never  plays  the  part  of  a  bully, 
rather,  he  defends  the  weak,  and  when  under 
provocation  does  not  fly  to  nature's  first  aid  of 
settling  every  dispute  with  his  fists. 

Again,  courage  does  not  necessarily  mean  to  be 


Christian  Courage  247, 

void  of  fear.  Take  two  soldiers  who  have  been 
to  the  front,  and  question  them  about  their  ex- 
ploits. One  laughs  and  says,  "he  didn't  care," 
and  as  you  consider  his  burly  physical  proportions 
and  his  iron  will  it  really  looks  as  though  noth- 
ing could  frighten  him.  He  contends  that  he 
does  not  know  what  fear  is.  Such  a  man  may 
have  performed  a  thrilling  deed,  but  his  heroism 
is  far  from  being  of  the  highest  order.  Another 
soldier  who  startled  the  world  by  his  achievement 
is  very  reticent;  he  does  not  want  to  talk  about 
it.  He  admits  it  is  like  a  nightmare  to  him,  and 
to  his  bosom  companion  he  confesses  that  he 
was  afraid.  He  was  so  frightened  that  his  nerves 
threatened  to  get  the  better  of  him,  but  he  knew 
how  much  depended  on  his  venture,  and  with  a 
prayer  to  God  for  strength  to  do  his  duty,  he  went 
on !  The  first  soldier's  courage  is  not  be  despised, 
but  the  second  soldier's  courage  is  moral  courage, 
and  for  such  courage  we  should  all  devoutly  pray. 
The  primary  lesson  God  would  have  us  learn  is 
to  be  courageous.  Christian  courage  is  moral 
courage  with  a  Christian  aim  and  motive.  It  is 
not  ours  by  nature.  Christian  courage  is  im- 
parted by  Christ.  When  the  Jewish  authorities 
"saw  the  boldness  of  Peter  and  John  they  took 
knowledge  of  them,  that  they  had  been  with 
Jesus." 

Christian  courage  is  the  courage  of  endurance. 
In  the  courageous  example  of  our  Lord,  we  dis- 
cern these  features  among  others — faith,  obedi- 


248  Soul  Crises 

ence,  patience  and  perseverance.  If  we  would  be 
partakers  of  the  courage  of  the  Christ  we  must 
enter  His  school,  as  would-be  heroes,  we  must 
learn  of  Him.  As  heroic  Christians,  let  us  "stead- 
fastly set"  our  faces  to  "adorn  the  doctrine  of 
God  our  Saviour  in  all  things."  We  need  cour- 
age to  enable  us  to  triumph  over  difficulty,  des- 
pondency and  discouragement.  These  are  real 
foes  that  we  have  to  face  every  day.  By  difficulty 
I  mean  anything  of  an  arduous  or  an  embar- 
rassing nature.  If  we  have  purposed  in  our 
hearts  to  live  lives  of  uncompromising  integrity, 
we  will  discover  that  we  are  on  a  rough  up-hill 
road,  and  we  will  find  ourselves  in  a  great  many 
embarrassing  situations.  It  requires  moral 
courage  to  say  "no"  to  what  is  wrong  and  "yes" 
to  Christ.  It  is  hard  to  be  truly  Christian  in  con- 
versation and  conduct,  but  if  we  endure  hardness 
as  good  soldiers  of  Jesus  Christ,  we  will  become 
more  Christlike,  and  what  distinction  is  compar- 
able to  that!  It  is  of  the  very  nature  of  difficulty 
to  inspire  courage,  besides  giving  us  the  oppor- 
tunity of  doing  exploits. 

Again,  we  require  courage  to  conquer  despond- 
ency. In  the  common,  every-day  routine  of  life, 
our  trials  and  sufferings  may  so  exhaust  us  that 
we  are  tempted  to  lose  hope.  We  become  de- 
pressed and  Hve  in  the  anticipation  of  an  over- 
whelming calamity.  Sometimes,  with  the  best 
of  intentions,  we  find  it  hard  to  rise  to  the  oc- 
casion; we  get  somewhat  unnerved.     But  what- 


Christian  Courage  249 

ever  we  do  let  us  not  be  always  looking  for 
trouble.  A  great  many  of  the  evils  we  dread  are 
more  imaginary  than  real.  When  in  Yorkshire, 
England,  I  heard  a  rather  amusing  story  of  a 
preacher  whom  I  knew  personally.  It  was  in 
my  first  pastoral  charge  and  I  can  hear  him  yet 
as  he  frequently  and  fervently  prayed:  "God 
bless  the  lad!"  "God  bless  the  lad!"  How 
omnipotent  the  preacher  feels  when  such  peti- 
tions are  presented  on  his  behalf!  Well,  this 
dear  old  saint  who  has  since  gone  Home  was  ap- 
pointed to  preach  one  Sunday  evening  at  a  coun- 
try charge.  In  the  gathering  gloom  he  journeyed 
through  the  fields  to  complete  his  engagement. 
When  he  got  so  far  through  a  certain  field,  he 
was  alarmed  to  see  a  wild  bull  moving  in  his 
direction.  He  turned,  took  his  heels,  and  ran. 
It  is  an  awful  experience  to  be  chased  by  a  wild 
bull,  and  in  our  imagination  we  can  see  the 
preacher  making  his  exit  over  the  fence  as  grace- 
fully as  the  occasion  would  permit.  But  the 
preacher  was  not  overtaken.  It  is  really  wonder- 
ful what  speed  preachers  can  get  on,  sometimes. 
Perspiring  freely  he  hurried  home  and  related 
his  experience  to  some  friends.  Next  morning 
a  party  set  out  to  locate  the  bull  and  acquaint  the 
owner  of  his  nature.  They  found  the  field  with- 
out any  difficulty,  but  they  could  not  find  the  bull. 
What  they  did  see  was  a  lonely  calf  which  seemed 
very  desirous  of  a  little  company.  In  the  dark- 
ness things  look  frightfully  big.     It  is  more  than 


250  Soul  Crises 

likely  that  the  preacher  had  a  wild  bull  in  his 
imagination,  and  he  saw  one.  Are  not  some  of 
us  living  too  far  in  the  shade?  That  may  ac- 
count for  our  seeing  so  many  things  working 
against  us. 

Let  us  have  courage  to  step  out  into  the  sunny 
paths  or  faith,  and  hope  and  love,  and  in  at  least 
nine  cases  out  of  ten  we  shall  find  that  the  wild 
bull  is  only  a  frolicsome  calf.  Set  your  face 
steadfastly  to  meet  in  a  courageous  spirit  all  the 
risks  to  which  you  may  be  exposed. 

Finally  we  need  courage  to  drive  away  dis- 
couragement. When  I  wanted  to  know  what  dis- 
couragement meant,  I  looked  in  the  dictionary 
and  learned  that  it  meant,  "to  repress  or  pre- 
vent." Oh!  what  power  discouragement  exerts 
to  hold  us  back!  A  young  man  says,  "nobody 
takes  pains  to  understand  me."  Perhaps  there 
is  very  little  to  understand  In  him.  He  does  not 
think  of  this  and  gets  discouraged.  Young  man! 
Whether  people  take  pains  to  understand  you  or 
not,  make  an  honest  attempt  to  understand  your- 
self and  master  yourself.  And  such  an  ac- 
complishment will  set  you  higher  in  the  moral 
realm  than  Alexander  the  Great  who  conquered 
the  world,  but  was  ignominlously  defeated  by 
himself.  It  is  more  than  likely  that  you  will  re- 
quire all  your  moral  courage  to  defend  your 
honour,  to  guard  your  morals,  to  retain  your 
purity,  and  to  forge  your  way  through  to  a 
worthy  place  in  the  van  of  progress. 


Christian  Courage  251 

Shall  we  take  another  glance  at  our  text?  "He 
steadfastly  set  His  face."  Have  you  seen  that 
face?  You  have  heard  others  talk  about  it,  but 
if  you  have  not  seen  it  for  yourself  gaze  upon 
it  now,  and  you  will  behold  the  brightness  of  the 
Father's  glory  and  the  express  image  of  His  per- 
son. Gaze  upon  that  face  and  you  will  lose  your 
sins,  your  vanity,  your  timidity.  And  as  you 
continue  to  gaze,  your  face  will  become  Christ- 
like, your  character  will  become  God-like.  You 
will  develop  that  calm,  purposeful  resolution  you 
see  written  upon  His  features,  and  you  will  stead- 
fastly set  your  face  to  do  His  will.  Shall  we  not, 
even  now,  resolve,  by  loyalty  to  Christ,  to  create 
a  healthier  moral  atmosphere,  to  do  what  in  our 
power  lies  to  make  it  easier  for  our  weak  brother 
to  do  right  than  to  do  wrong?  Our  principles 
will  be  tested,  and  our  courage  will  be  challenged, 
but  let  our  attitude  be  similar  to  the  best  blood  of 
Scotland,  as  they  stood  around  their  King  at 
Flodden : 

"One  by  one  they  fell  around  him, 
As  the  archers  laid  them  low; 
Grimly  dying,  still  unconquered, 
With  their  faces  to  the  foe." 


CHAPTER  XIX 


A  GREAT  SPECIALIST 


One  thing  have  I  desired  of  the  Lord,  that  nvill  I  seek  after ; 
that  I  may  divell  in  the  house  of  the  Lord  all  the  days  of  my 
life,  to  behold  the  beauty  of  the  Lord,  and  to  enquire  in  His 
Temple.— Fs.  XXVII,  4. 

THESE  words  express  the  hightest  ambition 
of  the  sons  of  God.  They  are  the  expression 
of  a  man  who  has  proved  the  worth  of  a  life  of 
faith.  He  is  not  an  amateur,  rather  he  is  a 
worthy  veteran.  He  has  experienced  the  rude 
shocks  of  life.  Recently  he  has  been  in  the  dark. 
It  may  be  the  darkness  of  sin  or  sorrow  from 
which  he  is  emerging,  for  he  confesses,  "The 
Lord  is  my  light  and  my  salvation."  He  has  been 
opposed  or  persecuted  for  he  throws  down  the 
challenge,  "Whom  shall  I  fear?"  In  the  atti- 
tude of  a  warrior  ready  for  the  fray  he  cries, 
"The  Lord  is  the  stronghold  of  my  life,  of  whom 
shall  I  be  afraid?"  His  faith  has  been  a  refuge 
in  time  of  trouble;  a  shield  against  the  wicked, 
and  a  joy  in  peace  and  prosperity.  He  knows 
where  to  go  when  in  trouble,  he  knows  how  to 
fight  and  prevail,  and  what  is  more  he  gives  us 
the  benefit  of  his  experience.     "For  in  the  time 

252 


A  Great  Specialist  253 

of  trouble,  He  shall  hide  me  in  His  pavilion:  in 
the  secret  of  His  tabernacle  shall  He  hide  me: 
He  shall  set  me  upon  a  rock.  And  now  shall  mine 
head  be  lifted  up  above  mine  enemies  round  about 
me:  therefore  will  I  offer  In  His  tabernacle  sacri- 
fices of  joy;  I  will  sing,  yea,  I  will  sing  praises 
unto  the  Lord." 

How  refreshing  to  meet  a  man  whose  religion 
Is  not  merely  a  creed,  or  an  orthodoxy,  but  a  life ! 
Not  a  sickly,  half-starved  life,  but  healthy,  ani- 
mated, and  joyous. 

But  who  was  this  man?  The  critics  have  dis- 
covered that  David  did  not  write  all  the  Psalms. 
We  need  not  be  dismayed.  We  have  the  Psalms, 
and  if  David  did  not  compose  them  all  it  goes 
to  prove  that  instead  of  one,  there  was  a  whole 
host  of  sweet  singers  In  Israel.  David  may  have 
been  an  unusually  good  singer.  He  was  above 
the  average  in  ability  and  in  piety,  and  possibly 
his  whole-hearted  devotion  has  been  the  prime 
factor  In  perpetuating  his  fame.  Any  man  who 
serves  God  with  all  the  enthusiasm  of  his  being 
has  the  great  probabilities  in  his  favour  of  being 
a  better  workman  whatever  trade  he  ply.  Thank 
God  for  the  unnamed  Psalmists  in  Israel!  Thank 
God  for  the  unrecorded  heroes  and  heroines  of 
Christ,  men  and  women  of  whom  the  world  is 
not  worthy,  who  at  this  moment  are  edifying  the 
world  by  the  sweet  melody  of  their  lives ! 

Perhaps  In  three  or  four  thousand  years  from 
now,  the  higher  critics  of  that  future  age  will  be 


254  ^oul  Crises 

criticising  the  psalms  of  to-day.  Probably  they 
will  start  out  with  the  impression  that  Tennyson 
and  Wordsworth  and  Longfellow  wrote  them 
all.  Then  they  will  discover  many  which  are 
anonymous,  and  some  wiseacre  will  publish  a 
learned  treatise  announcing  that  "Tennyson  and 
Wordsworth  and  Longfellow  never  lived."  To 
prevent  this  blunder,  let  us  put  it  on  record  that 
we  are  proud  of  our  Christian  poets,  and,  al- 
though we  are  not  all  Tennysons  and  Longfel- 
lows,  we  all  sing  the  same  songs.  I  am  not  sure 
whether  all  the  critics  are  agreed  as  to  who  com- 
posed this  Psalm,  but  if  I  rightly  read  the  spirit 
of  it,  it  is  of  Davidic  origin.  The  language  of 
our  text,  in  which  the  Psalmist  gives  utterance 
to  his  earnest  request,  is  so  suggestive  of  that 
tenacity  of  purpose  and  so  full  of  that  whole- 
hearted abandonment,  which  is  such  an  essential 
factor  in  the  soul  of  every  seeker  after  God,  that 
I  attribute  it  to  the  man  after  God's  own  heart. 
"One  thing  have  I  desired  of  the  Lord,  that  will 
I  seek  after,  that  I  may  dwell  in  the  house  of 
the  Lord  all  the  days  of  my  life,  to  behold  the 
beauty  of  the  Lord,  and  to  enquire  in  His 
Temple." 
Notice 

I      THE   SIMPLICITY   OF    HIS   REQUEST 

"One  thing  have  I  asked  of  the  Lord."     The 
Psalmist  saw  the  advantage  of  having  an  over- 


A  Great  Specialist  255 

ruling  purpose  In  life,  and  he  made  his  request 
for  "one  thing."  Such  a  simple  request  Is  easily 
understood,  and  is  more  likely  to  be  granted  than 
when  we  hesitate  In  making  our  choice.  The  dif- 
ficulty with  most  of  us  is  that  we  have  such  a 
variety  of  aims  and  desires  we  are  at  a  loss 
which  to  put  In  the  first  place.  Many  of  our 
aims  are  transient,  some  trivial,  and  others  fairly 
Important.  Our  plea  Is  that  we  are  men  of  affairs 
and  we  cannot  confine  ourselves  so  as  always  to 
be  thinking  about  religion.  But  the  choice  of 
this  "one  thing"  Is  not  limitation,  it  is  true  self- 
expression.  The  Psalmist  had  his  affairs  to  at- 
tend to,  but  In  all,  through  all,  and  above  all,  he 
had  a  master  passion;  he  wanted  "one  thing." 
Doubtless  this  one  thing  included  many  lesser 
wishes,  but  his  life,  instead  of  being  a  series  of 
contradictions,  was  a  harmonious  whole.  Like 
tributaries  finding  an  outlet  in  the  river,  and  the 
river  in  the  ocean,  everything  contributed  to  the 
supreme  purpose  of  his  being.  We  may  have  a 
diversity  of  aims,  but  it  is  our  prerogative  to 
see  that  all  contribute  to  the  all-controlling  pur- 
pose of  life.  The  Psalmist  wanted  one  thing, 
and  he  knew  what  he  wanted.  In  making  our 
selection  of  the  good  things  of  life  too  many  of 
us  are  like  children,  before  Christmas,  writing  to 
Santa  Claus,  stating,  "I  want,  I  want,"  until  there 
is  no  end  of  wants.  We  want  too  many  things, 
but  when  a  man  knows  what  he  needs,  and  says 
deliberately,  "I  want  one  thing,"  we  are  prepared 


256  Sotd  Crises 

to  listen.  If  that  one  thing  is  worthy  of  his  man- 
hood, God  is  prepared  to  listen,  and  what  Is  more, 
God  enters  Into  partnership  with  that  man,  and 
the  enduring  nature  of  his  achievements  will  even- 
tually convince  his  fellows  that  he  is  backed  by 
the  power  of  omnipotence.  If  we  desire  to 
enter  into  such  a  partnership,  we  must  be  pre- 
pared to  live  the  simple  life.  What  a  contrast  is 
presented  between  the  Psalmist  and  us !  His  life 
was  simple,  ours  is  complex.  His  wants  were 
few,  ours  seem  to  be  legion. 

Mark  you !  Simplicity  Is  not  necessarily  super- 
ficiality. A  great  many  of  us  are  superficial 
enough,  when  we  consider  how  content  we  are 
to  merely  skim  the  surface  of  life,  and  to  live 
almost  entire  strangers  to  those  habits  of  life 
which  helped  our  fathers  to  become  seers,  and 
our  mothers  to  become  saints.  Our  fathers  were 
men  of  sturdy  quahtles.  They  were  men  of 
mental  and  moral  caliber,  and  we  are  not  sur- 
prised because  they  lived  the  simple  life.  They 
were  frugal  in  their  habits.  They  took  time  to 
meditate  upon  the  meaning  of  life,  and  talked  fre- 
quently and  Intelligently  of  the  deep  things  of 
God.  How  entertaining  and  instructive  it  was 
to  us,  as  we  listened  to  the  saints  of  a  genera- 
tion ago,  while  they  conversed  of  those  "things 
the  angels  desire  to  look  Into."  These  are  among 
the  most  precious  memories  of  former  days,  days 
never  to  be  forgotten  when  our  parents  read  the 
sacred  page,  and  kneeling,  talked  with  heaven's 


A  Great  Specialist  257 

eternal  King.  Alas  for  us!  so  many  of  us  are 
living  such  superficial  lives  that  we  are  afraid  to 
speak  of  the  religion  we  profess.  i\.m  I  wrong 
in  surmising  an  alarming  lack  of  private  prayer 
and  meditation,  that  simple  but  certain  nourisher 
of  sainthood?  Life  has  become  so  complex  and 
boisterous  now-a-days  that  we  seem  to  be  total 
strangers  to  the  deep  experiences  of  life.  We 
rush  forward  headlong,  and  it  looks  as  though 
ev^erything  must  be  sacrificed  to  speed.  The 
luxury  of  one  generation  becomes  the  necessity 
of  the  next,  and  where  will  it  end?  Civilization 
first  gives  freedom  and  then  enslaves.  In  the 
rush  of  modern  civilization  we  cannot  have  all, 
so  let  us  be  content  with  what  we  need.  Certain 
things  we  do  require,  others  we  may  be  better 
without.  Amid  the  roar  of  the  traflic,  let  us 
pause  and  ask  ourselves  what  is  really  worth 
while,  and  like  the  Psalmist  we  shall  resolve  our 
desires  from  the  complex  to  the  simple  and  make 
our  request  for  "one  thing."     Secondly  notice, 

II      THE  SINCERITY  OF  HIS  REQUEST 

"One  thing  have  I  asked  of  the  Lord,  that  will 
I  seek  after."  This  qualifying  clause  reveals  the 
sincerity  of  the  Psalmist.  He  has  asked  not 
merely  for  "one  thing,"  but  he  has  set  his  heart 
on  it,  and  determines  to  do  what  he  can  to  get 
it.  His  attitude  is  suggestive  of  determination, 
endurance,  and  achievement.     God  honours  the 


258  Soul  Crises 

faith  of  the  earnest  man.  As  we  sometimes  say, 
"God  helps  those  who  help  themselves."  It  is 
only  when  we  have  given  proof  of  our  sincerity 
that  God  will  do  for  us,  "above  all  we  ask  or 
think."  The  Psalmist  has  his  daily  routine  to 
go  through,  but  every  task  is  made  subservient 
to  this,  "I  will  attend  religiously  to  every  detail 
of  my  work,  but  amid  all  that  is  trivial  and 
menial,  this  'one  thing'  I  live  for."  If  a  man 
really  wants  anything  worth  while,  he  will  dare 
to  risk  the  loss  of  other  things  to  specialize  upon 
that.  The  Psalmist  determines  to  become  a  spe- 
cialist. It  has  been  the  same  in  every  age.  To- 
day we  have  specialists  in  every  department  of 
life,  and  any  man  who  has  risen  to  eminence  has 
been  a  specialist  along  certain  lines.  What  we 
need  above  all  else  to-day,  in  every  department 
of  life,  is  only  too  apparent;  we  need  specialists 
in  sainthood.  The  one  thing  worth  living  for  is 
Christ-likeness,  "to  live  so  that  Christ  will  ap- 
prove our  life."  Enoch  was  a  specialist.  We 
are  not  in  a  position  to  say  precisely  what  his  oc- 
cupation In  life  was,  but  we  do  know  that,  "he 
walked  with  God,  and  he  was  not  for  God  took 
him."  Samuel  was  a  specialist.  He  specialized 
upon  prayer.  Was  there  ever  a  better  judge  in 
the  land?  How  high  his  rugged  personality 
towers  above  the  ordinary  when  he  cries,  "God 
forbid  that  I  should  sin  against  the  Lord  In  ceas- 
ing to  pray  for  you."  The  disciples  were  spe- 
cialists.    Peter  as  their  spokesman  said,  "Lo !  we 


A  Great  Specialist  259 

have  left  all  and  followed  Thee."  St.  Paul  was 
a  specialist,  and  how  like  the  Psalmist  in  his  atti- 
tude !  "This  one  thing  I  do,  forgetting  those 
things  which  are  behind,  and  reaching  forth  unto 
those  things  which  are  before,  I  press  toward 
the  mark  for  the  prize  of  the  high  calling  of  God 
in  Christ  Jesus."  The  Puritans  were  specialists. 
They  specialized,  not  upon  accumulation,  but 
upon  the  fear  of  God.  To  the  Puritans,  God  was 
over  all  blessed  forever,  they  feared  Him  and 
they  feared  none  beside. 

If  we  as  young  men  are  to  lead  the  forlorn 
hope  we  must  specialize,  not  necessarily  in 
swordsmanship,  but  in  sainthood.  "If  the 
trumpet  shall  give  an  uncertain  sound  who  shall 
prepare  himself  for  battle?"  We  demand  ster- 
ling integrity  in  our  leaders.  We  have  a  noble 
army  of  leaders  to-day,  but  the  ranks  are  thinning. 
There  are  many  gaps  to  be  filled.  Up,  young 
men !  and  claim  your  inheritance.  We  have 
Puritan  blood  in  our  veins,  and  we  cannot  suffer 
the  ideals  our  fathers  lived,  and  suffered,  and 
died  to  realize  to  be  ruthlessly  destroyed.  We 
are  doubtless  proud  of  our  branch  of  the  Chris- 
tian Church,  and  if  Presbyterianism  has  stood 
for  anything  at  all,  it  has  been  the  exponent  of 
unswerving  righteousness.  Young  men !  special- 
izing in  sainthood  is  not  the  sickly,  sentimental 
business  some  of  you  imagine  it  is.  It  is  some- 
thing that  demands  application.  You  cannot 
treat  it  lightly  for  It  is  your  very  life.     If  you 


26o  Soul  Crises 

want  to  become  a  Christian  hero,  bend  your 
energies,  and  say  with  the  sweet  singer  of  Israel, 
"that  will  I  seek  after."  Seek  that  pearl  of  great 
price  though  it  mean  weariness  and  pain,  though 
it  mean  bloodshed  and  tears,  seek  and  you  shall 
find.     Finally  and  briefly  notice: 

III     THE  SUBSTANCE  OF  THE  PSALMIST's  REQUEST 

"One  thing  have  I  asked  of  the  Lord,  that  will 
I  seek  after;  that  I  may  dwell  in  the  house  of  the 
Lord  all  the  days  of  my  Hfe,  to  behold  the  beauty 
of  the  Lord,  and  to  inquire  in  His  Temple." 
This  is  what  the  Psalmist  wants.  It  is  a  worthy 
request  and  he  dares  to  announce  it.  This  proves 
that  he  was  a  man  after  God's  own  heart.  How 
few  dare  to  lay  bare  the  uppermost  and  inmost 
longings  of  their  hearts!  The  inmost  desires  of 
some  of  us  might  be  no  credit  either  to  us,  or  to 
our  Christian  training.  Are  we  longing  for  that 
which  is  unlawful  or  unseemly?  Beware!  You 
cannot  take  fire  into  your  bosom  and  not  be 
burned.  Let  your  inmost  longing  be  worthy  of 
your  self-respect,  worthy  of  your  parents,  worthy 
of  your  country,  and  worthy  of  your  God.  The 
substance  of  the  Psalmist's  request  is  that  he 
wants  to  dwell,  to  behold,  and  to  inquire.  This 
threefold  request  being  granted  would  give  any 
man  the  summum  bonum,  the  supreme  good  of 
life.  Man  craves  a  home,  and  here  is  one  man 
who  wants  to  live  with  God.     "That  I  may  dwell 


A  Great  Specialist  261 

In  the  house  of  the  Lord  all  the  days  of  my  life." 
What  does  he  mean?  We  must  not  take  him 
too  literally.  Isaiah  may  help  us.  He  says,  "and 
it  shall  come  to  pass  in  the  last  days,  that  the 
mountain  of  the  Lord's  house  shall  be  established 
in  the  top  of  the  mountains,  and  shall  be  exalted 
above  the  hills;  and  all  nations  shall  flow 
unto  it."  What  is  the  meaning  of  this  figurative 
language?  Simply  a  statement  of  the  sublime 
fact  that  wherever  there  is  a  child  of  God,  there 
he  may  erect  an  altar,  and  even  though  the 
ground  be  hard  and  covered  with  stones  he  may 
like  Jacob  realize,  that  "this  is  none  other  than 
the  house  of  God  and  this  the  gate  of  heaven." 
The  house  of  God  is  where  the  worshipper  bows 
in  spirit  and  communes  with  God.  The  whole 
world  is  the  house  of  God  to  the  devout  soul. 
Men  who  have  sought  to  localize  and  monopolize 
God  have  entertained  wrong  views  of  Him.  Our 
Lord's  reply  to  the  Samaritan  woman  was  pro- 
foundly significant,  "The  hour  cometh,  and  now 
is,  when  the  true  worshippers  shall  worship  the 
Father  in  spirit  and  in  truth:  for  the  Father 
seeketh  such  to  worship  Him."  The  Psalmist 
had  a  longing  for  God  amounting  to  an  ardent 
passion.  He  wanted  to  be  like  God,  and  he  right- 
ly thought  that  the  surest  way  to  become  like  God 
was  to  live  with  Him,  in  the  same  house. 

Further,  He  wanted  to  see  "the  beauty  of  the 
Lord."  How  grateful  we  should  be  for  the 
faculty  of  vision!     A  great  man  has  made  the 


262  Soul  Crises 

interesting  statement  that  eighty  per  cent,  of  our 
knowledge  comes  to  us  through  the  medium  of 
our  eyes.  One  thing  is  very  evident,  we  see  what 
we  are  looking  for.  The  Psalmist  wanted  to 
penetrate  to  the  heart  of  things,  he  wanted  to 
concentrate  his  gaze  upon  the  glory  of  the  She- 
kinah.  What  a  conception  he  had  of  God! — "to 
gaze  upon  the  pleasantness  of  Jehovah."  But 
magnificent  as  his  conception  was,  we  are  even 
more  highly  favoured.  "The  Word  was  made 
flesh,  and  dwelt  among  us,  and  we  beheld  His 
glory,  the  glory  as  of  the  only  begotten  of  the 
Father,  full  of  grace  and  truth. 

What  think  ye  of  Christ?  Men  have  com- 
plained that  there  was  no  beauty  in  Him  that  we 
should  desire  Him.  His  visage  was  marred.  Yet 
some  have  looked  until  they  declared  Him  to  be 
"the  fairest  among  ten  thousand,  and  the  alto- 
gether lovely."  In  Him  we  see  truth  in  its  beauty, 
love  in  its  purity,  and  holiness  in  its  winsome- 
ness.     Have  you,  like  John,  "beheld  His  glory?" 

Finally,  the  Psalmist  says  he  wants  "to  in- 
quire." Man  is  a  big  interrogation  mark.  God 
has  set  eternity  in  our  hearts  and  we  are  born 
inquirers.  We  all  ask  questions,  but  the  pity  is 
that  so  many  of  us  are  inquiring  about  the 
transient  or  the  base.  "Wherewithal  shall  I  be 
clothed?"  or  fed?  Shall  I  pull  down  my  barns 
and  build  greater?  Child  of  time,  build  for 
eternity.  "He  that  dwelleth  In  the  secret  place 
of  the  Most  High  shall  abide  under  the  shadow 


A  Great  Specialist  262 

of  the  Almighty."  "Inquire  in  His  Temple!" 
In  the  olden  days  people  went  to  inquire  of  the 
Lord  about  everything.  It  was  an  inquiry  of  a 
domestic  nature  that  led  Saul  to  his  kingdom. 
Hannah  inquired  of  the  Lord.  Samuel  was  born, 
and  who  will  say  that  she  inquired  in  vain?  This 
Is  true  worship,  that  we  consult  God  in  every- 
thing. Such  worship  edifies.  By  frequent  com- 
munion we  receive  fresh  stimulus  and  encourage- 
ment. Such  worship  enlightens.  Do  we  need 
pardon?  "Ask  and  ye  shall  receive."  Do  we 
need  guidance?  "He  that  followeth  Me  shall 
not  walk  In  darkness,  but  shall  have  the  light 
of  life."  Such  worship  equips  for  the  daily  task. 
So  let  us  determine  to  glorify  God  and  enjoy 
Him  forever.     Amen. 


CHAPTER  XX 

A  NATIONAL  TRINITY 

And  Elisha  prayed,  and  said,  Lord,  I  pray  Thee  open  his  eyes, 
that  he  may  see. — II  Kings  VI,  17. 

IN  our  text  we  have  a  trinity  who  unite  in 
providing  one  of  the  most  fascinating  chap- 
ters In  Jewish  history.  Fortunate  indeed  is  the 
nation  boasting  such  a  trinity  and  where  each  of 
its  three  persons  are  had  in  becoming  reverence 
and  esteem.  The  nation  void  of  this  trinity  or 
lacking  any  one  of  these  three  may  well  start  at 
the  sight  of  the  handwriting  upon  the  walls  of  its 
most  enduring  institutions,  for  its  days  are  num- 
bered and  its  overthrow  in  sight. 

The  first  person  in  this  trinity  is  The  Lord. 
"And  Elisha  prayed,  and  said.  Lord,  I  pray 
Thee."  The  most  casual  observer  could  not  fail 
to  recognize  that  there  was  a  God  in  Israel.  This 
was  the  most  conspicuous  fact  in  the  history  of 
that  remarkable  people.  This  thought  gripped 
every  Jew  and  gave  him  such  poise  and  power 
as  made  him  both  the  envy  and  the  admiration 
of  mankind.  Other  nations  boasted  a  pantheon, 
a  whole  procession  of  gods,  but  the  Jew  was  not 
264 


A  National  Trinity  265 

envious.  Had  he  not  proved  what  the  modern 
world  with  all  its  scientific  research  and  its  evolu- 
tionary theories  has  never  disproved  that  "all 
the  gods  of  the  nations  are  idols:  but  the  Lord 
made  the  heavens."  This  fundamental  tenet  of 
the  Jewish  faith  was  imparted  to  each  succeed- 
ing generation.  Every  Jewish  child  was  told  and 
retold  of  God,  His  Being,  Power,  and  Choice, 
until  the  idea  gripped  him  and  thrilled  him;  he 
was  one  of  an  elect  nation,  "chosen  of  God  and 
precious."  God  was  their  King,  their  Provider, 
and  Defender.  When  they  marched  against 
their  enemies  it  was  In  the  firm  assurance  that 
God  led  them  on.  If  it  was  a  righteous  battle 
their  enemies  were  routed.  If  it  was  an  un- 
righteous battle  they  were  defeated  and  chas- 
tened. Thus  nothing  could  stand  before  the 
dauntless  courage  of  those  who  charged  amid  the 
strains  of  the  warrior  psalm: 

"God  is  our  refuge  and  our  strength, 
In  straits  a  present  aid; 
Therefore  although  the  earth  remove, 
We  will  not  be  afraid." 

There  was  a  God  in  Israel.  Is  there  a  God 
in  Britain?  The  history  of  the  British  Empire 
has  been  quite  as  remarkable  as  that  of  Israel. 
When  our  history  as  a  people  is  complete,  it  will 
read  like  a  romance.  To  the  serious  students  of 
history  our  own  is  coming  to  be  recognized  as  a 


266  Soul  Crises 

romance  of  faith.  Every  historic  event  in  the 
United  Kingdom  has  left  a  record  so  plain  that 
he  who  runs  may  read  that  there  is  a  God  in 
Britain.  Early  in  the  Christian  era,  the  gospel 
was  preached  in  the  mother  country.  The  seed 
was  sown  in  good  ground  and  is  bringing  forth 
a  harvest  that  will  continue  to  be  reaped  until  the 
angel  shall  set  one  foot  on  sea  and  the  other  on 
land,  and  proclaim  that  time  shall  be  no  more. 
Rising  from  a  mere  handful  of  God-fearing  citi- 
zens, the  British  Nation  has  grown  to  be  an  em- 
pire upon  which  the  sun  never  sets.  Innumer- 
able factors  have  contributed  to  this  result, 
factors  which  we  gratefully  acknowledge,  but  the 
supreme  factor  that  has  made  this  brilliant 
achievement  possible  is  God.  Our  late  beloved 
Queen  Victoria  expressed  our  imperial  senti- 
ments most  aptly  when,  lifting  a  copy  of  the 
Scriptures,  she  said  "this  is  the  secret  of  Eng- 
land's greatness."  In  the  steadfast  adherence  of 
the  British  Empire  to  the  cause  of  righteousness, 
and  in  her  role  as  a  herald  of  the  Evangel,  we 
have  conclusive  evidence  that  there  has  been  a 
God  in  Britain,  but  can  that  assertion  be  made 
without  fear  of  contradiction  in  the  living 
present? 

Is  there  a  God  in  Canada  to-day?  Israel 
fulfilled  her  mission,  and  Britain  is  in  the  zenith 
of  her  glory,  while  in  Canada  we  are  laying  the 
foundations  of  an  empire  within  an  empire. 
When  we  consider  the  area,  the  natural  and  min- 


A  National  Trinity  267 

eral  resources  of  the  Dominion,  together  with  the 
rapidity  with  which  thousands  are  seeking  homes 
in  our  beloved  land,  we  rightly  anticipate  a  tre- 
mendous future.  It  is  the  overwhelming  convic- 
tion of  all  who  have  the  highest  interests  of  the 
Dominion  at  heart  that  if  ever  a  country  needed 
the  presence  and  superintendence  of  a  God,  we 
need  a  God  in  Canada  to-day.  Yes!  There  is 
a  God  in  Canada.  This  is  God's  country,  and 
thousands  of  the  best  blood  of  our  land  have 
sworn,  "As  for  me  and  my  house  we  will  serve 
the  Lord."  There  is  a  God  in  Canada,  and  He 
is  going  to  win  the  day.  There  are  those  who 
would  like  to  contradict  this  assertion,  and  many 
evils  thrive  in  defiance.  Because  of  these  we 
mourn,  but  we  do  not  despair.  Their  days  are 
numbered!  Even  now,  the  ranks  are  filling,  and 
the  prayer  ascending,  "Let  God  arise,  and  let  His 
enemies  be  scattered."  I  warn  you  who  are  in- 
clined to  sneer  "there  is  no  God  in  Canada,"  to 
change  your  attitude  from  that  of  cynicism  and 
indifference  to  one  of  joyful  recognition  and  ap- 
preciation. God  will  vindicate  His  honour  and 
lay  bare  His  mighty  arm.  Slowly  but  surely  He 
is  eliminating  the  bad  and  establishing  the  good. 
But  you  ask,  "How  do  these  statements  harmon- 
ise with  the  present  war?"  We  deplore  the 
necessity  of  war,  but  where  honour  and  righteous- 
ness are  involved  we  do  not  hesitate.  Great 
Britain  is  at  war  because  of  a  choice  between  two 
evils,  the  evil  of  going  to  war,  and  the  greater 


^68  Soul  Crises 

evil  of  peace  with  dishonour.  The  Psalmist  said, 
"I  have  seen  the  wicked  in  great  power,  and 
spreading  himself  like  a  green  bay  tree.  Yet  he 
passed  away,  and,  lo,  he  was  not:  yea,  I  sought 
him,  but  he  could  not  be  found."  Listen  to  the 
words  of  Jeremiah.  His  words  were  never  more 
significant  than  they  are  to-day.  "Thus  saith 
the  Lord,  Let  not  the  wise  man  glory  in  his  wis- 
dom, neither  let  the  mighty  man  glory  in  his 
might,  let  not  the  rich  man  glory  in  his  riches: 
but  let  him  that  glorieth  glory  in  this,  that  he 
understandeth  and  knoweth  Me,  that  I  am  the 
Lord  which  exercise  lovingkindness,  judgment, 
and  righteousness,  in  the  earth:  for  in  these 
things  I  delight,  saith  the  Lord." 

The  second  person  in  this  trinity  is  The  Proph- 
et. "And  Elisha  prayed  and  said,  O  Lord  I 
pray  Thee."  Next  to  the  Lord,  the  most  conspicu- 
ous part  in  Israel  was  played  by  the  prophet. 
It  was  necessary  for  God  to  communicate  His 
wishes  to  the  sons  of  men,  and  the  prophet  was 
the  spokesman  of  God.  The  prophets  of  Israel 
were  both  human  and  divine.  They  kept  their 
eyes  upon  the  great  white  throne,  and  this  in- 
tensified their  interest  in  the  national  weal.  To 
prophets  like  Isaiah  and  Jeremiah  who  had  to 
prophesy  of  their  country's  downfall  their  task 
was  a  heartbreak,  and  how  eagerly  they  turn 
from  national  disaster  to  the  glory  of  the  latter 
days!  All  the  prophets  of  Israel  were  great 
personalities,    and    although    ranging    from    the 


A  National  Trinity  269 

lofty  grandeur  of  Moses  to  the  uncompromising 
fidelity  of  Samuel,  from  the  rugged  spendour  of 
Elijah  to  the  meek  simplicity  of  Elisha,  they  were 
equally  attractive.  For  such  a  prophetic  suc- 
cession we  most  humbly  and  devoutly  pray. 

The  prophet  is  one  who  hears,  who  sees,  and 
who  speaks.  He  has  learned  the  fine  art  of  listen- 
ing. God  speaks,  frequently  and  eloquently,  but 
the  majority  do  not  heed.  They  are  so  pre- 
occupied that  they  do  not  hear.  As  in  the  days 
of  our  Lord,  when  God  speaks,  there  are  those 
who  testify  that  it  thundered,  while  others  come 
much  nearer  the  truth  by  declaring  that  "an 
angel  spake."  The  prophet  is  not  disturbed  by 
the  earthquake  and  the  fire  for  behind  them  he 
can  distinguish  the  "still  small  voice."  What  we 
need  to  cultivate  more  and  more  in  these  days  of 
rush  and  bustle  is  the  art  of  listening.  How 
easy  it  is  to  interpret  the  message  of  God  when 
we  have  learned  how  to  hear. 

The  prophet  is  one  who  sees!  He  penetrates 
the  unseen.  Before  all,  and  in  all,  and  over  all, 
he  sees  God,  and  he  sees  the  national  policy  to- 
gether with  individual  motives  in  the  light  of  the 
great  white  throne. 

The  prophet  speaks!  He  does  not  speak  at 
random  but  under  divine  guidance.  How  often 
in  history  when  every  other  voice  has  been 
silenced  the  prophet  has  spoken  in  clear,  ringing 
tones,  and  not  only  saved  the  situation,  but  trans- 
formed national  misgiving  into  a  great  mission- 


270  Soul  Crises 

ary  opportunity.  When  Naaman,  the  Syrian, 
presented  himself  before  the  king  of  Israel  and 
requested  to  be  cleansed  of  his  leprosy,  the  king 
"rent  his  clothes,  and  said,  Am  I  God,  to  kill  and 
make  alive,  that  this  man  doth  send  unto  me  to 
recover  a  man  of  his  leprosy?  Wherefore  con- 
sider, I  pray  you,  and  see  how  he  seeketh  a 
quarrel  against  me."  And  when  Elisha  the  man 
of  God  heard  that  the  king  of  Israel  had  rent 
his  clothes,  he  sent  to  the  king,  saying,  "Where- 
fore hast  thou  rent  thy  clothes?  Let  him  come 
now  to  me,  and  he  shall  know  that  there  is  a 
prophet  in  Israel." 

The  message  of  the  prophet  in  the  old  dis- 
pensation was  national  in  its  bearing,  while  the 
message  of  the  modern  prophet  has  no  regard 
for  international  boundaries,  but  is  of  uni- 
versal significance.  The  modern  prophet  is  a 
Christian  imperialist  and  in  the  name  of  the 
Father  of  the  spirits  of  all  flesh,  he  speaks  to 
every  nation  under  heaven.  While  we  esteem 
our  army  and  navy  highly  in  love  for  their  works' 
sake,  let  us  recognize  the  preeminence  of  the 
prophet  as  a  guardian  of  our  shores. 

The  third  person  in  this  trinity  is  The  Young 
Man.  "And  Elisha  prayed,  and  said,  Lord,  I 
pray  thee,  open  his  eyes,  that  he  may  see.  And 
the  Lord  opened  the  eyes  of  the  young  man;  and 
he  saw."  The  young  man  is  an  indispensable  ele- 
ment in  this  trinity.  Her  young  men  are  a  na- 
tion's most  valuable  assets.    As  a  nation  the  Jews 


A  National  Trinity  l^ji 

had  a  high  regard  for  their  young  men.  David 
and  Jonathan,  Daniel  and  Nehemiah,  are  illus- 
trious examples  of  that  religious  patriotism  which 
had  been  instilled  into  their  youthful  minds,  which 
was  their  motive-power,  and  which  gave  them 
a  permanent  place  in  the  hall  of  fame.  Great 
Britain  is  under  an  enormous  obligation  to  her 
young  men.  Lord  Clive  was  a  reckless  boy  when 
he  sailed  for  India.  There  one  bitter  experience 
succeeded  another  until  disappointed  and  de- 
jected he  spent  his  remaining  money  in  purchas- 
ing a  revolver  with  which  to  take  his  life.  Twice 
he  held  the  weapon  to  his  temple  and  pulled  the 
trigger  and  twice  it  failed  to  discharge.  It 
clicked,  but  would  not  go  off.  Throwing  the 
weapon  down  upon  the  table  and  himself  into  a 
chair,  he  did  some  hard  thinking.  Presently  a 
friend  entered  the  room.  Clive  said,  "Take  that, 
and  fire  through  the  window!"  He  did  so! 
There  was  a  loud  report,  and  Clive,  springing 
to  his  feet  cried,  "I  think  I  am  reserved  for  some- 
thing great!"  And  so  it  proved.  He  conquered 
India,  and  placed  in  the  British  Crown  one  of 
its  most  precious  gems. 

A  number  of  years  ago  the  members  of  the 
War  Office  in  London  were  debating  the 
prospects  of  a  certain  venture.  They  sent  for 
their  oldest  general  and  asked  him  his  opinion. 
He  said  it  was  simply  impossible.  Then  they 
sent  for  the  next  in  order  and  so  on  until  they 
reached  the  youngest  general  they  had.    And  they 


272  Soul  Crises 

said,  "Wolfe,  can  you  win  Canada  for  Great 
Britain?" 

Wolfe  replied,  'Til  do  it  or  die."  He  did  it, 
and  he  died,  but  he  did  it  nevertheless.  Won  by 
a  young  man,  Canada  is  a  young  man's  country. 
Throughout  the  Dominion  young  men  are  attain- 
ing to  the  most  responsible  positions,  and  grac- 
ing them  both  by  efficiency  and  success.  This  is 
preeminently  the  young  man's  day,  and  every 
young  man  should  prepare  assiduously  for  the 
position  in  life  he  may  be  called  upon  without 
previous  warning  to  fill. 

The  whole  civilized  world  is  gazing  intently 
upon  the  present  crisis  in  Europe.  Every  man 
of  genuine  worth  feels  that  this  is  a  young  man's 
fight.  Young  men  have  been  entrusted  with  the 
most  responsible  positions  in  the  government,  in 
the  army,  in  the  navy,  and  they  are  acquitting 
themselves  in  a  manner  that  leaves  nothing  to 
be  desired.  And  what  of  the  men  in  the 
trenches?  We  see  the  brave  young  men  of  Eng- 
land, Ireland,  and  Scotland,  we  see  the  swarthy 
sons  of  India,  the  sturdy  sons  of  Africa,  the  gal- 
lant sons  of  Australasia,  and  our  noble  Canadian 
young  men  who  have  added  another  illustrious 
chapter  to  our  youthful  history.  The  call  is  for 
young  men  of  mental  and  moral  caliber  in  every 
department  of  life  to  rise  in  their  might  and  usher 
in  the  order  that  is  to  be.  Young  man,  "who 
knoweth  whether  thou  art  come  to  the  kingdom, 
for  such  a  time  as  this?" 


A  National  Trinity  273 

"And  Elisha  prayed,  and  said,  Lord,  I  pray 
Thee  open  his  eyes  that  he  may  see."  The  glory 
of  this  trinity  is  seen  to  better  advantage  when 
we  consider  the  time  it  was  united  for  action. 
It  was  a  time  of  national  peril.  The  feud  be- 
tween Israel  and  Syria  was  one  of  long  standing. 
There  had  been  frequent  skirmishes  made  by  the 
Syrians  which  were  extremely  annoying.  But 
during  the  reign  of  the  present  monarch,  Ben- 
hadad  II,  these  had  developed  into  an  organized 
campaign.  It  was  Benhadad's  ambition  to  effect 
the  complete  subjection  of  Samaria.  He  confided 
his  plan  of  campaign  to  his  officers  who  main- 
tained the  utmost  secrecy  and  repeatedly  they 
tried  to  surprise  and  capture  the  king  of  Israel, 
but  without  success.  Their  plans  were  frustrated 
in  a  way  that  was  hard  to  account  for.  The  key 
to  the  situation  was  held  by  the  prophet  "And 
the  man  of  God  sent  to  the  king  of  Israel,  say- 
ing, 'Beware  that  thou  pass  not  such  a  place:  for 
thither  the  Syrians  are  come  down.'  And  the 
king  of  Israel  sent  to  the  place  which  the  man  of 
God  told  him  and  warned  him  of,  and  saved  him- 
self there,  not  once  nor  twice."  His  designs  were 
thwarted  so  completely  that  Benhadad  suspected 
treachery,  and  in  an  agony  of  bewilderment,  he 
cried,  "  'Will  ye  not  show  me  which  of  us  is  for 
the  king  of  Israel?'  And  one  of  his  servants 
said,  'None,  my  lord,  O  King:  but  Elisha,  the 
prophet  that  is  in  Israel,  telleth  the  king  of 
Israel  the  words  that  thou  speakest  in  thy  bed- 


274  ^oul  Crises 

chamber."  The  mystery  explained  the  rest  was 
quite  easy.  Capture  and  despatch  the  prophet 
and  then  the  conquest  of  Israel  would  only  be  a 
question  of  time.  So  without  delay,  Benhadad 
sent  horses  and  chariots  and  a  great  host  to 
Dothan,  and  they  came  by  night  and  compassed 
the  city  about.  And  when  the  servant  of  the  man 
of  God  was  risen  early,  and  gone  forth,  behold, 
an  host  compassed  the  city  both  with  horses  and 
chariots.  And  his  servant  said  unto  him,  "Alas, 
my  master!  how  shall  we  do?"  The  young  man 
was  at  his  wit's  end.  They  had  been  caught  like 
rats  in  a  trap.  And  with  a  cry  of  dismay,  he 
rushed  into  the  presence  of  the  prophet.  They 
were  in  a  terrible  plight.  From  a  human  stand- 
point their  capture  had  been  effected.  Escape 
was  impossible.  The  young  man  saw  that  re- 
liance upon  human  resources  was  out  of  the  ques- 
tion, and  a  very  instructive  feature  of  this  story 
is  that  the  young  man  runs  instinctively  to  the 
prophet. 

This  is  precisely  what  we  want  our  young  men 
to  do.  We  want  to  cultivate  your  acquaintance. 
You  need  us  and  we  need  you.  There  are  those 
who  endeavour  to  divorce  you  from  the  Chris- 
tian church,  by  speaking  disparagingly  of  the 
church  and  its  ministry,  but  exercise  a  care,  lest 
for  bread  you  receive  a  stone.  It  is  easy  to  criti- 
cise, it  is  easy  to  pull  down,  but  not  so  easy  to 
build  up.  The  Christian  ministry,  the  modern 
school  of  the  prophets,  does  not  claim  to  be  a 


A  National  Trinity  275 

perfect  Institution,  and  no  one  Is  readier  to 
acknowledge  this  than  those  who  have  entered 
this  holy  calling.  But  as  a  class,  and  especially 
where  they  have  exercised  the  function  of  the 
prophet,  they  have  invariably  championed  the 
cause  of  righteousness,  and  challenged  the  Go- 
llaths  of  oppression  to  combat  in  the  open  field. 
Depend  upon  it,  the  prophet  is  a  man,  he  is  a 
man  of  God,  and  as  such  he  Is  your  friend.  He 
has  eyes  to  see,  a  heart  to  feel,  and  is  always 
willing  to  lend  a  helping  hand.  Those  men  who 
have  lost  faith  In  God  and  In  all  existing  institu- 
tions, and  who  are  red  hot  for  revolution,  may 
Impress  you  with  their  vehemence,  but  they  are 
false  prophets.  What  can  they  offer  as  a  substi- 
tute? They  have  no  God!  no  Christ!  They 
have  no  spiritual  perspective.  They  are  of  the 
earth  earthy,  and  no  matter  how  plausible  their 
arguments,  they  are  officers  of  Benhadad.  Given 
a  free  hand  they  would  eliminate  worship  and 
strike  In  their  frenzy  at  the  pillars  of  the  great 
white  throne.  If  they  have  a  panacea  let  them 
go  out  into  the  highways  and  byways,  where  the 
church  goes,  and  from  thence  rally  their 
standards  and  not  deplete  the  armies  of  the  liv- 
ing God. 

In  the  hour  of  peril  there  was  only  one  place 
to  go,  and  with  dismay  written  upon  his  features, 
the  young  man  burst  into  the  chamber  of  the 
prophet  and  cried,  "Alas,  my  master!  how  shall 
we  do?"     The  prophet's  reassuring  "Fear  not" 


276  Sotd  Crises 

perplexed  him  until  he  prayed  that  remarkable 
prayer,  "Lord,  I  pray  Thee,  open  his  eyes,  that 
he  may  see.  And  the  Lord  opened  the  eyes  of 
the  young  man;  and  he  saw."  A  new  world  burst 
upon  his  vision!  "The  mountain  was  full  of 
horses  and  chariots  of  fire  round  about  Elisha." 

The  tables  were  turned.  Their  enemies  were 
hopelessly  outnumbered.  Young  men!  Do  you 
know  anything  of  that  world  and  its  forces  which 
enabled  the  prophet  to  be  calm  in  the  hour  of 
panic?  Do  you  know  anything  of  that  magnifi- 
cent world  to  which  St.  Paul  refers,  when  he 
prays,  "that  Christ  may  dwell  in  your  hearts  by 
faith,  that  ye  being  rooted  and  grounded  in  love, 
may  be  able — may  be  able — to  comprehend  with 
all  saints,  what  is  the  breadth,  and  length,  and 
depth,  and  height;  and  to  know  the  love  of  Christ, 
which  passeth  knowledge,  that  ye  might  be  filled 
with  all  the  fulness  of  God?"  The  Lord!  The 
Prophet!  and  The  Young  Man!  What  achieve- 
ments have  been  wrought  by  these  three,  and 
what  signal  triumphs  yet  await  them ! 

There  is  something  more  commendable  than 
what  was  accomplished  by  Clive.  It  is  to  lead 
those  millions  of  people  in  India,  who  are  ready 
for  the  gospel  message,  to  adorn  the  doctrine  of 
God  our  Saviour.  There  is  something  with  issues 
infinitely  more  tremendous  than  what  was  ac- 
complished by  Wolfe,  it  is  to  win  Canada  for 
Christ.     There  is  something  even  greater  than 


A  National  Trinity  277 

the  overthrow  of  military  despotism,  it  is  the 
recognition  of,  and  unswerving  loyalty  to  Christ 
the  King  of  Kings  and  Lord  of  Lords.  Will  you 
subscribe  to  this  trinity  now?     Amen. 


CHAPTER  XXI 

A    CHALLENGE    TO    CIVILIZATION 
Gird  ye  on  every  man  his  sivord. — I  Sam.  XXV,  13. 

Tn\AVID  was  a  fugitive  but  not  of  justice,  he 
^^  was  in  exile  through  no  crime  of  his  own. 
He  was  discovered  in  a  national  crisis.  Under 
God  he  had  become  the  champion  of  his  native 
land.  Because  of  his  signal  achievements  and 
modest  demeanour,  he  became  the  object  of  royal 
jealousy.  Jealousy  engendered  hatred,  and  hate 
deliberately  contemplated  murder.  Saul  de- 
termined to  kill  David  who  wisely  sought  refuge 
in  flight.  He  kept  moving  from  place  to  place, 
for  Saul  with  a  zeal  worthy  of  a  better  cause  was 
hot  in  pursuit.  The  fugitive  was  not  overtaken, 
but  by  his  indiscretion,  the  king  endangered  his 
own  life.  On  more  than  one  occasion  David  had 
Saul  at  his  mercy,  but  he  refused  to  strike,  he 
refrained  from  lifting  his  hand  against  the  Lord's 
anointed. 

David  by  his  conduct  in  his  banishment  proved 
himself  a  gentleman.  That  he  was  a  gentleman 
of  a  very  high  order  is  attested  by  the  fact  that 
while   the   men   who   rallied   to   his   standard, — 

278 


A  Challenge  to  Civilization  279 

**every  one  that  was  In  distress,  and  every  one 
that  was  In  debt,  and  every  one  that  was  discon- 
tented,"— while  these  men  were  naturally  of  a 
lawless  type,  he  restrained  them  from  all  such 
depredations  as  make  such  bands  a  menace  to 
any  law-abiding  community.  Even  though  in 
jeopardy  and  hunted  as  an  arch-traitor,  he  never 
hesitated  to  wield  his  sword  in  his  country's  cause. 
Wherever  he  sought  refuge,  the  people,  instead 
of  complaining  because  of  any  misdemeanour, 
were  loud  in  their  praise  of  David  and  his  men. 
Amid  the  rocks  and  caves  of  Carmel,  they  en- 
joyed a  brief  respite  and  endeared  themselves  to 
the  shepherds  of  Nabal,  a  wealthy  farmer  living 
in  Maon.  In  this  mountainous  region,  the 
shepherds  were  exposed  to  the  raids  of  bandits 
who  lived  by  plunder.  While  David  and  his  men 
were  there,  the  shepherds  enjoyed  security.  The 
appreciation  of  the  shepherds  was  ably  expressed. 
"The  men  were  very  good  unto  us,  and  we  were 
not  hurt,  neither  missed  we  anything,  as  long  as 
we  were  conversant  with  them,  when  we  were  in 
the  fields :  They  were  a  wall  unto  us  both  by 
night  and  day,  all  the  while  we  were  with  them 
keeping  the  sheep." 

When  Nabal  was  shearing  his  sheep  David, 
who  had  to  battle  with  hardship  and  poverty,  sent 
greetings,  and  requested  a  favour  in  considera- 
tion for  his  services.  It  was  a  very  modest  re- 
quest, simply  a  request  for  something  to  eat. 
"And    Nabal    answered    David's    servants,    and 


2  8o  Soul  Crises 

said,  'Who  is  this  David?  and  who  is  the  son  of 
Jesse?  there  be  many  servants  now-a-days  that 
break  away  every  man  from  his  master.  Shall  I 
take  my  bread,  and  my  water,  and  my  flesh  that 
I  have  killed  for  my  shearers,  and  give  it  unto 
men,  whom  I  know  not  whence  they  be?'  " 

David's  young  men  returned  and  related 
Nabal's  insolent  reply.  "And  David  said  unto 
his  men.  Gird  ye  on  every  man  his  sword."  Such 
base  insolence  merited  immediate  action,  and  men 
of  the  calibre  of  David  were  not  to  be  trifled  with. 
Not  content  with  declining  to  meet  David's 
wishes,  Nabal  added  insult  to  injury.  His  reply 
was  a  challenge  which  did  not  have  long  to  wait 
for  acceptance.  "And  David  said  unto  his  men, 
Gird  ye  on  every  man  his  sword."  There  are 
situations  in  which  we  are  placed  by  the  tragedy 
of  circumstances,  by  an  unexpected  turn  of  events, 
which  call  forth  the  injunction  "Gird  ye  on  every 
man  his  sword." 

On  the  second  day  of  August,  19 14,  the  whole 
civilized  world  stood  aghast  when  Germany  de- 
liberately tore  up  her  treaty  which  guaranteed 
the  neutrality  of  Belgium  and  prepared  to  pass 
through  that  little  unoffending  country  in  a  swift 
move  on  to  Paris.  Her  strategists  decided  that 
this  was  the  shortest  and  quickest  route.  Taking 
this  path  they  would  soon  strike  an  effective  blow. 
It  is  now  over  two  and  a  half  years  since  they  set 
out  for  Paris  and  despite  their  haste,  the  Ger- 
mans   are    not   there    yet.      The    shortest    route 


A  Challenge  to  Civilization  281 

sometimes  proves  to  be  the  longest  road.  What 
was  the  attitude  of  King  Albert  when  he  heard 
of  this  proposed  outrage?  He  sent  an  appeal 
to  England  calculated  to  move  hearts  of  stone, 
and  without  waiting  for  a  reply  he  turned  reso- 
lutely to  his  soldiers  and  said,  "Gird  ye  on  every 
man  his  sword."  The  part  played  by  the  daunt- 
less sons  of  Belgium  during  the  first  few  weeks 
of  the  war  will  stand  as  one  of  the  most  illustri- 
ous deeds  in  the  annals  of  men.  When  Great 
Britain  who  was  bound  by  the  same  solemn  in- 
ternational treaty  as  Germany  heard  of  this  viola- 
tion, and  remembered  her  own  moral  obligations, 
what  did  she  do?  Did  she,  like  Germany,  tear 
up  the  treaty  and  refer  to  it  as  a  scrap  of  paper? 
No !  We  are  a  peace-loving  people,  we  had 
much  to  lose  and  little  to  gain  by  going  to  war, 
and  besides  we  were  unprepared  for  war.  But 
our  illustrious  monarch  never  hesitated.  Turn- 
ing to  his  men  he  said,  "Gird  ye  on  every  man 
his  sword."  Convinced  of  the  righteousness  of 
the  cause  for  which  they  were  to  fight,  the  re- 
sponse to  the  Country's  call  is  without  a  parallel 
in  history.  The  contemptible  300,000  rapidly 
rose  to  an  army  of  5,000,000  men. 

As  a  nation  we  never  have  regretted  the  steps 
we  have  taken.  In  the  memorable  words  of  Mr. 
Asquith,  "We  are  fighting  to  fulfil  a  solemn  inter- 
national obligation  and  to  vindicate  the  principle 
that  small  nationalities  are  not  to  be  crushed,  in 
defiance  to  international  good  faith,  by  the  arbi- 


2  82  Soul  Crises 

trary  will  of  a  strong  and  overmastering  power. 
1  do  not  believe  any  nation  ever  entered  into  a 
great  controversy — and  this  is  one  of  the  great- 
est history  will  ever  know — with  a  clearer  con- 
science and  stronger  conviction  that  it  is  fighting, 
not  for  aggression,  not  for  the  maintenance  of 
its  own  selfish  interest,  but  that  it  is  fighting  in  de- 
fence of  principles,  the  maintenance  of  which  is 
vital  to  the  civilization  of  the  world."  The  many 
changes  which  have  taken  place,  the  vital  ques- 
tions which  have  had  to  be  answered  have  been 
startling   in   their   significance. 

After  two  years  of  the  strain  imposed  by  this 
unique  situation,  Mr.  Asquith  resigned  as  Pre- 
mier, and  Mr.  Lloyd  George  took  hold  of  the 
reins  of  Government.  We  admire  both  Mr. 
Asquith  and  his  work,  but  in  Mr.  Lloyd  George 
we  recognize  "one  of  the  biggest  men  God  ever 
made."  He  is  a  God-fearing  man  and  he  fears 
none  beside.  He  has  deep  convictions  regarding 
right  And  wrong,  and  what  is  more,  he  has  the 
courage  of  his  convictions.  He  enjoys  the  confi- 
dence of  soldier  and  civilian  alike.  When  we 
consider  his  political  career,  when  we  remember 
his  strenuous  efforts  on  behalf  of  righteousness 
and  peace,  we  may  reasonably  conclude  it  was  no 
mere  chance  that  placed  him  at  the  helm  of  the 
ship  of  state  in  such  a  treacherous  sea.  Mr. 
Lloyd  George  has  resolutely  opposed  war.  We 
respect  his  stand  during  the  war  in  South  Africa, 
but  it  did  not  take  this  master  statesman  long  to 


A  Challenge  to  Civilization  283 

see  that  the  present  struggle  was  no  common  fight. 
After  seeing  every  available  means  for  avert- 
mg  bloodshed  rudely  rejected,  he  set  to  work. 
What  we  owe  to  the  indefatigable  efforts  of  this 
one  man  would  be  difficult  to  estimate. 

One  of  the  first  duties  he  had  to  perform  as 
prime  minister  was  to  consider  a  peace  offer  made 
in  Germany.  According  to  that  peace  offer,  Ger- 
many was  to  be  acknowledged  a  victor  and 
further  she  refused  to  state  her  terms  of  peace. 
It  has  since  resolved  itself  more  into  a  trap  than 
a  genuine  offer  of  peace.  What  was  Mr. 
George's  reply?  This  modern  David,  in  con- 
junction with  our  brave  allies,  said,  "Gird  ye  on 
every  man  his  sword."  More  recently  events 
have  moved  apace. 

We  have  just  lived  through  one  of  the  most 
eventful  weeks  (January  28  to  February  3,  19 17) 
this  continent  has  ever  known.  At  the  beginning 
of  the  week  we  were  considering  President  Wil- 
son's program  for  world  peace.  It  was  a  coura- 
geous utterance,  a  fascinating  dream.  Many  of 
us  expressed  our  views  regarding  it.  Some  said, 
it  was  not  in  the  realm  of  practicability,  while 
others  hoped  to  see  it  adopted.  When,  lo !  at 
the  end  of  the  week  the  American  Republic  is  on 
the  verge  of  war.  The  Germans  practically  have 
delivered  an  ultimatum  to  all  neutrals  and  the 
outlook  is  very  grave.  The  sudden  crisis  with 
which  the  United  States  is  confronted  opens  up 
the   whole   question   of  the  war  and  Germany's 


284  Soul  Crises 

recent  move  virtually  becomes  a  challenge  to 
civilization.  President  Wilson  should  have  our 
sympathy  and  prayers  in  this  crisis.  It  would  be 
a  serious  thing  to  plunge  a  nation  of  a  hundred 
million  people  into  war,  especially  a  nation  com- 
posed of  so  many  nationalities,  but  there  is  some- 
thing even  more  serious,  and  that  is  for  a  nation 
to  lose  its  soul. 

"Once  to  every  man  and  nation  comes  the  mo- 
ment to  decide. 

In  the  strife  of  Truth  with  Falsehood,  for  the 
good  or  evil  side; 

Some  great  cause,  God's  new  Messiah,  offering 
each  the  bloom  or  blight. 

Parts  the  goats  upon  the  left  hand,  and  tha 
sheep  upon  the  right, 

And  the  choice  goes  on  forever  twixt  that  dark- 
ness and  that  light."  ^ 

It  is  highly  desirable  that  a  great  nation  like 
the  United  States  of  America  should  command 
and  retain  the  respect  of  the  civilized  world.  If 
President  Wilson  meets  this  challenge  by  turning 
to  his  people  and  saying,  "Gird  ye  on  every  man 
his  sword,"  no  one  will  be  able  to  charge  him 
with  rashness.  He  has  been  so  patient  and  per- 
sistent in  his  pacific  course  that  we  considered  war 
a  stranger  to  these  coasts,  when,  lo  I  the  unex- 
pected happens,  and  war  is  at  our  very  doors.     If 

^  James  Russell  Lowell. 


A  Challenge  to  Civilization  285 

this  world  war  Is  not  a  fight  between  Christ  and 
Apollyon,  I  don't  know  what  is.  It  is  a  mo- 
mentous struggle,  it  is  filling  the  whole  horizon, 
but  considering  it  in  the  light  of  the  great  moral 
law,  it  is  only  one  phase  of  a  war  that  is  as  old 
as  time.  As  one  startling  situation  is  succeeded 
by  another,  we  cannot  adopt  the  attitude  of  inter- 
ested spectators.  If  we  would  win  the  unfading 
crown  of  manhood  and  womanhood,  we  must  get 
into  the  struggle  and  determine  that  everything 
relative  to  despotism  will  be  challenged  and  given 
no  quarter  whether  it  reveals  itself  in  church  or 
state.  We  are  all  in  this  fight,  and  the  sooner 
we  realize  the  tremendous  issues  depending  upon 
our  waging  a  good  warfare,  the  better.  Some 
people  maintain,  we  never  should  fight.  As  we 
review  the  horrors  of  war,  we  pray  earnestly  for 
peace.  I  hate  war  and  all  that  leads  to  it,  but 
with  all  reverence  I  reply  that  we  must  always 
fight.  Everything  depends  on  what  we  are  fight- 
ing for,  what  we  are  fighting  with,  and  the  spirit 
in  which  we  are  doing  our  fighting. 

The  question  no  doubt  will  be  asked,  "Will  the 
United  States  be  justified  in  going  to  war?"  Was 
David  justified  when  he  said  to  his  men,  "Gird 
ye  on  every  man  his  sword?"  To  answer  this 
question  Intelligently  we  must  consider 

THE  CHARACTER  OF  NABAL 

He  was  a  great  man.  *'And  the  man  was 
very    great."      Greatness    Is    a    relative    term. 


2  86  Soul  Crises 

There  is  a  greatness  which  is  synonymous  with 
goodness,  and  there  is  a  greatness  which  is 
synonymous  with  social  prestige.  Nabal  was 
great  but  not  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord. 
Germany  was  beginning  to  impress  the  world  by 
the  greatness  of  her  scientific  achievements,  and 
she  has  made  certain  contributions  to  our  modern 
knowledge  which  entitle  her  to  the  designation 
"great."  Nabal  was  great  in  his  possessions. 
He  had  3,000  sheep  and  1,000  goats.  His 
possessions  gave  him  his  place  in  society  as  a 
man  of  wealth.  Before  the  war,  Germany  had 
great  possessions  and  an  increasing  asset  in  her 
universal  trade.  Commercially  she  was  very 
great.  If  Nabal  was  great  in  his  wealth,  he  was 
even  greater  in  his  opportunity.  The  responsibil- 
ity of  a  rich  man  is  grave.  His  social  position 
gives  him  a  great  opportunity  for  righteousness; 
and  what  an  opportunity  Germany  had  for  good 
by  virtue  of  her  position,  few  can  estimate. 

If  Nabal  was  "very  great"  in  his  opportunity 
he  was  still  greater  in  his  traditions.  He  was  a 
descendant  of  Caleb.  The  traditions  of  both  na- 
tions and  men  are  a  heritage  and  by  no  means 
to  be  despised,  especially  if  they  are  honourable. 
As  we  look  at  Caleb,  that  sturdy  warrior,  so 
inflexible  in  his  adhesion  to  the  utter  right  at  the 
end  of  the  Canaan  campaign  choosing  the  hill 
country  for  his  inheritance  that  he  might  con- 
tinue to  prove  his  steel  and  retain  the  joy  of  con- 
quest— as  we  gaze  upon  such  an  ideal  veteran. 


A  Challenge  to  Civilization  287 

we  anticipate  great  things  for  his  descendants. 
That  hill  country  was  sacred  ground.  Every  foot 
of  it  had  been  won  by  the  sword  of  the  Lord  and 
of  Caleb.  Nabal  was  "very  great"  in  his  tradi- 
tions. 

What  shall  we  say  of  the  traditions  of  Ger- 
many? What  country  can  boast  of  more  promis- 
ing traditions?  We  turn  with  sparkling  eyes  to 
the  land  of  Luther.  And  considering  his  match- 
less power  In  his  day  and  generation,  we  would 
expect  Germany  to  be  a  land  of  prophets.  But 
of  Germany  as  of  another  nation  it  can  be  stated 
mournfully  that  she  knew  not  the  time  of  her 
visitation. 

Finally  Nabal  was  greatest  In  his  folly.  Nabal 
was  his  name  and  folly  was  his  nature.  How- 
ever Germany  regards  her  undue  haste  in  plung- 
ing the  world  Into  war  I  know  not,  but  this  I  do 
know,  history  will  regard  it  as  an  act  of  mad- 
ness without  a  parallel.  Nabal's  folly  Is  seen  in 
his  reply  to  David's  young  men.  As  we  examine 
his  reply  we  discern  that  Nabal  was  great  In  his 
haughtiness.  "Who  Is  this  David?"  It  was  not 
altogether  what  he  said  but  how  he  said  it. 
Haughtiness  Is  a  sin  from  which  we  must  all  pray 
to  be  delivered.  Great  men  and  great  nations 
sometimes  take  too  much  for  granted  and  conse- 
quently over-reach  themselves.  They  seem  to 
think  they  can  bully  persecuted  Davids  at 
pleasure,  but  history  bids  them  beware. 

Nabal's  reply  betrayed  his  Ignorance.     "Who 


288  Soul  Crises 

is  this  David?  He  did  not  appear  to  know  that 
had  it  not  been  for  David,  in  the  most  critical 
hour  of  their  national  life,  the  armies  of  Israel 
would  have  been  routed  and  the  Philistines  would 
have  been  the  owners  of  his  sheep.  "Who  is 
this  David?"  How  base  his  ingratitude!  His 
flocks  had  been  so  well  protected  in  the  hill  coun- 
try that  he  was  greatly  indebted  to  David  and 
his  men,  and  the  least  he  could  reasonably  expect 
to  do  was  to  make  a  few  inquiries  regarding  the 
circumstances  of  those  well-disposed  individuals 
who  had  been  to  his  shepherds  "a  wall  by  night 
and  day." 

Finally,  Nabal's  reply  proved  that  he  was 
great  in  his  scorn.  "Who  is  this  David?"  You 
do  not  know?  Then  you  soon  will,  for  he  is  even 
now  preparing  a  most  impressive  introduction. 
"And  David  said  unto  his  men,  'Gird  ye  on  every 
man  his  sword.'  "  Whether  a  nation  is  justified 
in  going  to  war  with  another  nation  depends  on 
one  or  two  things.  Who  are  they  negotiating 
with,  and  what  are  they  likely  to  fight  for?  If 
you  are  dealing  with  men  who  have  no  regard 
for  veracity,  no  sense  of  honour,  and  who  de- 
liberately plan  to  inspire  horror  by  striving  per- 
sistently to  destroy  every  principle  of  righteous- 
ness, the  sooner  you  gird  on  your  swords  the 
better. 

But  if  the  latest  German  threat  is  a  challenge 
to  civilization,  more  than  the  United  States  are 
affected.     Every  civilized  nation  as  well  as  every 


A  Challenge  to  Civilization  289 

civilized  individual  is  affected.  What  is  going 
to  be  our  attitude?  We  are  watching  other  neu- 
tral nations  with  interest,  but  while  awaiting  their 
decision,  let  us  not  forget  to  record  our  own.  The 
attitude  of  our  brave  soldiers  leaves  nothing  to 
be  desired.  They  have  gone  and  many  of  them 
have  made  the  supreme  sacrifice,  but  what  of 
ours?  This  challenge  is  a  clear  call  to  the  Chris- 
tian Church.  To  every  soldier  of  Jesus  Christ 
the  command  is  given  by  David's  greater  son, 
"Gird  ye  on  every  man  his  sword."  The  sacred 
cause  of  Freedom,  the  very  foundation  of  the 
great  white  throne  is  threatened,  and  it  was  the 
contemplation  of  evils  such  as  are  symbolized  in 
Prussian  despotism  that  led  Jesus  to  say,  ^'Think 
not  that  I  am  come  to  send  peace  on  earth:  I 
came  not  to  send  peace,  but  a  sword."  When 
freedom  and  honour  and  righteousness  are  at 
stake  it  is  the  Prince  of  Peace  who  says,  "he  that 
hath  no  sword,  let  him  sell  his  garment  and  buy 
one." 

In  its  final  analysis,  a  nation  is  the  unit  writ 
large.  As  citizens  we  are  in  a  measure  re- 
sponsible for  our  national  ideals.  Into  the  fair 
garden  of  Germany,  so  ably  cultivated  by  Luther, 
an  enemy  came  and  sowed  tares  while  the  Church 
was  asleep.  For  forty  years  that  pernicious  seed 
has  been  taking  root  and  now  behold  the  harvest. 
Civilization  has  been  challenged.  Every  Chris- 
tian must  have  felt  the  force  of  this  affront.  In 
this  great  Armageddon  we  adopt  a  neutral  atti- 


290  Soul  Crises 

tude  at  our  peril.  Whether  our  lot  be  cast  in 
the  home,  the  church  or  the  state  let  us  gird  on 
every  man  his  sword.  Have  we  no  worthy  tradi- 
tions? Was  the  struggle  at  Runnymede  a  mere 
stageplay?  By  all  that  is  holy  I  charge  you  to 
get  into  this  fight.  If  we  altogether  hold  our 
peace  when  all  that  our  fathers  held  sacred  and 
fought  and  died  for  is  threatened  with  extinc- 
tion— if  we  altogether  hold  our  peace  in  this 
appalling  time — it  is  enough  to  make  our  fathers 
turn  in  their  graves. 

O  you  Christian  Canadians  to  the  gap ! 

"As  Christ  died  to  make  men  holy 
As   Christ   died   to   make   men   free" 

let  us  recognize  that  even  in  this  great  and  ter- 
rible war  God  is  marching  on.  In  His  name  let 
us  take  immediate  issue  with  everything  that 
"loveth  and  maketh  a  lie."  An  effective  weapon 
has  been  put  into  our  hands:  "the  sword  of  the 
spirit  which  is  the  word  of  God." 

As  parents  let  us  inculcate  into  the  minds  of 
our  children  the  sacredness  of  truth,  the  su- 
premacy of  conscience,  the  glory  of  freedom,  and 
the  grandeur  of  righteousness.  As  patriotic  citi- 
zens, let  us  gird  on  every  man  his  sword  in  deal- 
ing with  the  great  question  of  education.  Ideas 
rule  the  world.  It  is  a  suicidal  policy  to  imagine 
that  any  kind  of  education  will  do  for  the  rising 
generation. 


A  Challenge  to  Civilization  291 

If  we  had  all  wielded  the  sword  of  the  spirit 
without  intermission,  no  nation  however  great 
would  have  dared  to  challenge  civilization  as  Ger- 
many has  done.  It  is  not  merely  out  of  date,  it 
is  perilous  to  wink  at  evil  or  to  ignore  un- 
righteousness. All  that  makes  for  oppression 
and  despotism,  all  that  makes  for  selfishness  and 
injustice  should  meet  with  prompt  action  by  every 
lover  of  God  and  hater  of  iniquity.  By  the  love 
of  God,  our  Father,  by  the  sacrifice  of  Jesus 
Christ,  our  Saviour,  by  the  sufferings  of  our  mod- 
ern heroes,  I  beseech  you  to  realize  that  we  are 
not  engaged  in  a  sham  fight,  that  we  are  not  to 
speculate  regarding  this  challenge;  but  for  the 
sake  of  the  past  to  achieve  victory  in  the  present 
and  insure  security  in  the  future,  we  are  urged 
to  obey  the  injunction,  "Gird  ye  on  every  man 
his  sword." 


Princeton  Theotooical  Seminary  Libranes 


111  mill 


1    1012   01197   0466 


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